Lupine
by Yugami
Summary: Saitou returns to Tokyo, but when Sanosuke tries to prove himself as a fighter, they both get more than they bargained for.
1. Chapter I - His Return to Tokyo

Usual Authors Note: This fic has the following - yaoi, shonen ai, sex, molestation, and a whole lotta spookiness. Adult supervision recommended.

disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. That is of course, unless everything I know is WRONG!

Much thanksis: Much thanks to Nemmy-chan who beta'd this and is hopefully in it for the long run. You're a doll hun! ^.^v

Lupine Chapter One - His Return To Tokyo 

A howling wind ripped past Sanosuke as though it had a will to knock him away. But Sanosuke had a will of his own, and he kept moving forward. It seemed the more he kept walking into the wind, the harder the wind blew. Yet still Sanosuke walked on. He would have it. No matter how hard the wind blew, he would reach it. It didn't matter to him if nature itself didn't want him to reach it; he defied it. He wouldn't back down now, not when it was so close.

His fingers trembled as they inched towards his goal. Centimeter by centimeter he drew closer until he could almost feel It's touch at the tips of his fingers. 

"Sanosuke..." the wind howled. 

He was almost there. He stretched and strained, his arms reaching towards It.

"Sanosuke!"

There was a pounding, like a drum, three times. 

"_No, not yet_," Sanosuke thought. He felt the wind rip him away just as his fingers were about to grasp It, all his effort against the wind ripped away by a rude awakening.

"Sanosuke!"

The pounding came again, three times on the door. Sanosuke sat upright on his futon, sweat beading from his skin. He panted as though he had been drowning and shivered like he had just come out of the water on a cold day. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and focused himself back into reality. 

He ran his fingers through his wild, sun-browned hair and let out a frustrated breath. The dream had come to him for the third night in a row. It was always the same: he ran against the wind to reach "it". The problem was, Sanosuke didn't know what "it" was, and after three nights of the same dream, what "it" was remained a mystery to him, regardless of how close he had gotten to "it". Yet in his dream he wanted it so badly he fought against the very winds themselves. 

Sanosuke shivered.

Three loud bangs came again at the door, followed by an impatient "Sanosuke!". Growling, Sanosuke stood, walked towards the door, remembered he had to put pants on, walked back, dressed, then walked back to the door.

"What is it?" Sanosuke mumbled as he slid open the screen, his Osaka accent even rougher with a hoarse morning voice.

Sanosuke had to look down to see the man that had so insisted on seeing him. He was a frog of a man, who looked like he was always squatting, was waist-high standing next to Sanosuke and had dark emotionless eyes. Although he was stubbly, you could see that he was going for the heavy sideburns look. His hair was very curly at the edge, but the rest of his hair was straight and oiled back.

"I'd like to know when exactly I'm going to get my money back, _Zanza_," the money lender spat, able to glare Sanosuke in the eye, despite their considerable size differences.

Sanosuke twitched and ground his teeth together.

"Yeah, whatever Magori," Sanosuke mumbled, "Give me a week. A friend of mine is going south with me for a job. I'll have the money after that."

Magori raised a suspicious, and very hairy, eyebrow. "I know you better than that. You'll probably gamble it all off by the time you get back to Tokyo. You know _Zanza_, I'm beginning to wonder if you even know the weight of the word 'debt'."

Sneering, Sanosuke slid the door shut, but at the last moment Magori's hand blocked the screen. His small black eyes peered through the crack in the door.

"I'm serious, _Zanza_," Magori growled, spitting out Sanosuke's nickname like it was something unpalatable. "It's either get me the money, or I make big trouble for you."

Sanosuke raised a brow and looked down at Magori.

"_Big_ trouble?"

Magori scowled, the lines in his forehead bunching up together.

"Goodbye Magori," Sanosuke said, and shut the screen the rest of the way.

Thoughts of Magori and the dream buried deep in the back of his mind, Sanosuke headed out to gamble. Despite the fact that he had debts, he thought a few rounds of dice between friends would be good for himself. He grabbed what little money he had lying around, and headed off. 

"Sano!" a familiar voice called out to him. Up ahead of Sanosuke was a tall, thin man with long, straight hair. Like Sanosuke, he also wore a headband, though instead of being red it was a green flowered pattern. This man was Katsuhiro, an old friend of Sanosuke's from their days in the Sekihoutai.

"Katsu!" Sanosuke yelled back, waving to his friend.

"Where the hell have you been? I got questions about our trip," Katsu told Sanosuke.

"Well I might've been able to get a hold of you, if you didn't spend all your friggin' time on that damned newspaper of yours," Sanosuke snapped back.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go play a game or two," Katsu laughed, waving Sano ino the gambling house.

As Sanosuke lifted his leg to step inside, something caught in the corner of his eye. Almost like a shadow creeping through time from the past, a figure stepped into a nearby alleyway. It was too convenient. It couldn't possibly be who Sanosuke thought it was. But a strong mixture of excitement, and, mostly, annoyance, made Sanosuke certain of who he was. 

"Sanosuke, are you coming in or not?" voices rang from inside.

Sanosuke blocked them completely from his mind. The strong urge to gamble had all but disappeared. His eyes were wide and focused now only on the place where the shadow had retreated.

"Ah, Katsu? Hold a spot for me will ya? I gotta ... do somethin'," Sano said, stepping back out into the dusty Tokyo street.

Katsuhiro called after him, but Sanosuke ignored him and kept walking towards an alleyway. That was where he had seen his vision vanish around a corner. Sanosuke found the alley deserted. Defeated, his shoulders slumped and he scratched his head in confusion.

"_I coulda sworn I saw..._" Sanosuke thought. But his thought was interuped as a shadow flickered across the alleyway wall. A mischievous smile spread across Sanosuke's lips.

Being as quiet and sneaky as it was in his power to be, he made his way to the end of the alleyway. Voices came from around the corner; hushed, angry tones spoken with low pitch. Sanosuke made no effort to pay attention to the words that were spoken. He was too excited to think of anything but the potential that lay around the corner. It would finally be the day he once again fought Saitou Hajime.

Although it had been a year since he'd seen Saitou, his profile as he retreated into the alleyway was unmistakable, even if it was for a second. It wouldn't be easy to forget the face of the man who unveiled his very weakness, showed it to him, and disappeared into the shadows, leaving the score between them unsettled.

In that moment Sanosuke saw his opportunity to finish what was started over a year ago. Filled with boyish excitement, Sanosuke bit his lip and thought of the victory he was about to win.

"_Just you wait Saitou_," Sanosuke thought, "_My Futae no Kiwami has improved so much I'm more than a match for your Gotatsu!_"

With a roar, Sanosuke jumped arond the corner.

"I knew it was you! Thought you could pass through Tokyo without running into Sagara Sanosuke?"

The silence that followed Sanosuke's outcry was thick enough to bite. Saitou Hajime stood in the alleyway, his stare intent, but fixated elsewhere than at Sanosuke. He looked like a statue as he stood motionless. The shadows took away the effect of age and wear so that his skin seemed white. Saitou's hair was slicked back perfectly, except for the four stubborn strings of hair that outlined his face, the darkness of his hair contrasting to the way his skin seemed to glow at that moment. He was obviously on police business, because he was wearing the uniform of the Meiji government police force. With one exception of course: instead of a sabre, Saitou had the same sword he used when he was the leader of the third squad Shinsengumi; back when he was known to be Saitou Hajime, not Special Officer Gorou Fujita.

As for what Saitou's amber eyes were locked onto, it was another man, somebody Sanosuke had never seen before. This man was a few inches shorter than Saitou and perhaps an inch or so shorter than Sanosuke, but he was imposing enough to look just as tall. His waist length black hair was held in a loose tie, so his hair fell like a hood around his face. He was also pale, but in a sickly way. His icy eyes held a deep chasm of uncaring void, not unlike the eyes of Shinomori Aoshi. He was psychotic, and Sanosuke could tell just by looking at him. He had an aura of ruthless danger and cunning about him. He didn't seem like the kind of person you would want to be caught in a dark alley with, but that was where Sanosuke found himself.

"Hey ..." Sanosuke said, his voice shaking as it seemed to be out of his control at that moment. His senses were telling him that he had arrived someplace he shouldn't be, but the thoughts of the unfinished fight kept him where he was. "What's going on? You already stirring up new trouble?"

"Get lost, _ahou_." Saitou said, his voice commanding and quiet all at once.

A vein popped to life in Sanosuke's head as anger colored his skin red. "My name is Sanosuke, not _ahou_!" Sanosuke growled, puffing up like a dog. "Listen to me _Miburo_, we're going to finish what we started a year ago. You and me, toe-to-toe, right now!"

"It doesn't matter anymore, it's in the past," Saitou said, still not looking away from the man whom Sanosuke was now totally ignoring.

Sanosuke opened his mouth to speak, but was interupted. "And the past is dead, isn't it Saitou?" said the stranger. If Sanosuke had thought his eyes held dangerous insanity, it didn't hold a candle to his voice. His voice held the kind of calm crazy that was so unpredictable, you never knew when they were going to snap.

Sanosuke eyed the stranger cautiously, but then his emotion of unease turned to something he was more comfortable with: anger. "This isn't any of your business, asshole! You just stay out of it! I'm talking to..."

"We were in the middle of a conversation," the stranger said, turning his icy green eyes to Sanosuke. They were unblinking and inhuman. Sanosuke felt a shiver run down his spine, for the alleyway seemed so much darker and smaller than it had just a moment before.

"Stop this now," Saitou commanded as a whisper to the stranger. "Get out of here now, _ahou_," Saitou said, as an order to Sanosuke. "If you'd like, you can win by default."

"What!? I didn't spend all this time becoming stronger so you could blow me off like this!" Sanosuke roared back.

The stranger took a few steps away, clutching his head. He spoke low, so that it was almost impossible to hear him. "You know it's very rude to interrupt a private conversation ... very rude ..."

"That's swell buddy, but this isn't about you. This is between me an' him," Sanosuke said, pointing with his thumb to Saitou.

"Rude boy ..."

The stranger turned and charged so fast that Sano had no time to react. Sanosuke's arms only jerked up instinctively, trying to at least shield himself. He went down so quickly that there was no vision, only the sensation of falling, and then the pain of his skull slamming against the alley floor. The weight of the man was upon him, and he heard the sick sounds of skin against skin, and bones cracking. He attempted to fight back, until he felt his head being slammed into the floor with unnatural force. The pain came in a fierce wave, but he was too far gone to feel any of it. Sanosuke's eyes rolled back and he looked to the only place he could: the sky. There was a part of him that could still feel the pain being inflicted upon him, yet another part of him, a peice put there to protect him, thinking: "My, what pretty clouds"

Sanosuke's head was held between the stranger's hands. There was one wide smile from him before he crushed Sanosuke's head against the ground again. The world swam through Sanosuke's eyes like water. The shadow of the stranger lingered above Sanosuke like a shroud and his shadow seemed to spread and spread until everything in sight was swallowed into darkness.


	2. Chapter II - Bruises

Lupine Chapter Two - Bruises 

The world came back into being in flashes of light and whispers of familiar voices. But he did not want to come back. Not then. The world was still too bright and too painful. He wanted to rest. To sleep in the arms of dreams. Dreams of dark places and winds; of wolves and Kings; of stars and a chase. And yet he felt himself waking.

Sanosuke's body was stiff and broken as he laid on the hard unforgiving wood. He tried to move but he felt every cut, bruise, and broken bone in his body react. Even as he moaned, he felt pain in his jaw and inside his mouth. He quickly learned he shouldn't move. But even after he stopped, currents of pain ravished his body. 

He began to search his memory. The last thing he remembered was Saitou Hajime. Saitou. The name kept repeating in his head. Then his image came, his cold amber eyes staring at him. Sanosuke could stand it. And had to move.

Stubborn as he was, Sanosuke didn't let a little thing like pain stop him, so he lifted his arm and reached out, his eyes shut tight to help bear the pain, and began to sit up. 

A pair of hands grabbed hold of Sanosuke's shoulders then. Gently, they held Sanouke down. Sanosuke, being too tired to fight back, laid back down, though he flinched at the touch, fearful of more waves of pain.

"You just rest now, rooster-head," said a familiar voice. It was softer and less judging than he remembered, but it was obviously Megumi. Sano felt himself relax; he was safe. He allowed himself to fall into darkness.

The next few weeks went by much like this: Sanosuke would stir, woken by the same dreams. Some days there were more familiar voices. Not just Megumi, but other panic-stricken voiced calling his name before Megumi shushed them and reminded them of Sano's need for rest.

Then, one miraculous day, Sanosuke opened his eyes to the world. It was a struggle just to open his eyes, for a heavy buildup had crusted over his eyes from the tears and puss. He shut them right away as the sun pierced his eyes. With all the strength he had saved up inside of himself, he braced himself on the wall and sat up. It was a slow process. Every muscle seemed completely useless and sore, but somehow he sat up all the way. He panted and clutched his stomach, feeling violently sick. He opened his eyes again. The light was so bright that he had to look towards the wall.

Sanosuke heard the screen open to the room and he whirled himself around. The sun was even brighter and he couldn't make out the figure in the doorway. He lifted his other arm to shield his eyes but pain shot up his arm. It was broken, obviously. He brought it back down and cradled it with the other arm until the throbbing ceased. 

"Sanosuke," said Megumi's voice. She placed a hand behind Sanosuke's head and lowered him back down. A few moments later, Sanosuke felt a wet cloth wash over his eyes. After that, it was a little easier to open his eyes.

"Sano? Look at me."

Blinking against the harsh light, Sanosuke slowly looked over to see Megumi standing over him.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked.

Sanosuke lifted his good arm - slowly - and pointed to Megumi.

"Fox ... woman," he croaked.

Megumi had a look on her face then like she was about to start beating Sanosuke over the head with whatever was handy. That drew a smile from Sanosuke, albeit a small, weak one. Megumi smiled back and began tending Sanosuke's wounds.

Megumi's hands were swift and sure as she treated Sanosuke. Her scowling face had melted away the moment she touched him. It was replaced by every part of her that was a doctor, which could be seen through her knowledgeable, diligent, and disciplined eyes. 

When she was done, Megumi helped Sanosuke to sit up. It proved more difficult than even the first time he sat up, by himself. Sanosuke became aware of injuries he hadn't noticed before. A few of his ribs were cracked and his stomach burned as the acids inside ate at each other. He clutched his stomach and tried to calm his body enough to concentrate on something else. 

"How ... did I get here?" Sanosuke asked once he could sit up on his own. 

"Your friend, Katsuhiro. You're lucky he came around when he did! He said it looked like you were about to have the finishing move put on you. And from the looks of you, I'd say he was right. I haven't seen you this messed up since Saitou ... " Megumi stopped herself. She wasn't sure if a fight he had lost before would be a good topic to discuss while he was recuperating from another lost fight.

"Get Kenshin," Sanosuke asked bluntly.

Megumi blinked at Sanosuke. "What happened, rooster-head?"

"Just get him. I need to talk to him ... right away."

"What aren't you telling me?" Megumi asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"Megumi," Sanosuke half-pleaded, half-ordered. 

Megumi sighed through her nose and dropped her arms to her side. "I'll send Ayami or Suzume to go fetch him," she said, defeated. 

"Thank you," Sanosuke said, relief in his sigh.

Megumi laughed, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I guess that concussion was worse than I thought," Megumi said, and stepped out of the room.

Kenshin arrived as the sun was settling down for its nightly slumber. He was dressed in tattered but wearable clothes and his bright sun-bleached hair glowed in the evening light. He smiled at Sanosuke, the trademark scar on his cheek lifting as he did so. The setting sun behind him illuminated Kenshin's outline with a golden halo, making him seem as pale as ever. If the humble rurouni had been beautiful before, now he was absolutely angelic. 

Sanosuke smiled back weakly and didn't try to sit up that time. He'd had his fill of rediscovering his injuries for the day. 

"Sano. I'm glad to see you're finally awake," Kenshin said, sitting down at the end of Sanosuke's hospital bed. 

"It's good to be back among the living," Sanosuke joked. "I thought I was in another world for a while." He smiled, but then his smile faded.

"Sano, Megumi said you wanted to see me right away. Is something the matter?" Kenshin leaned in closer as he lowered his voice.

Sanosuke nodded. "It's ... Saitou."

Kenshin's eyes didn't show change from shock, or any other emotion. It was as if the though of Saitou returning wasn't surprising to him. The only change was a slight inclination of curiousity in his tone. "Saitou? Did he do this?"

"No. He didn't do this. But he was there. I don't know if Katsu saw him, but he was there. In the alleway ... with the guy that I ... fought with." Sanosuke was beginning to have a problem fishing for words, though Kenshin couldn't tell if it was the injuries or his pained pride. Kenshin laid a hand on his friend's. 

"If you need to rest, I can go," Kenshin said, motioning towards the door.

"I've been resting for quite some time, Kenshin. Pardon the pun, but I'm tired of resting," Sanosuke spat. 

Kenshin smiled, glad to see Sanosuke's old energy back. "I'm sorry. It's just that you gave us all quite a scare. Everybody's been to visit while you were asleep. Katsuhiro comes almost every day. He was the one that found you. I assume Megumi told you that."

Sanosuke nodded. "Yes. I'm shocked. He pulled himself away from his beloved newspaper."

Kenshin let out a quiet laugh. "Like a baby torn from its mother. He always showed up with ink and powder all over him. Megumi forced him to wash thoroughly before he could set foot in your room."

Sanosuke cortled. "Sounds like Katsu, the dirty writing machine."

They shared a laugh. Things turned solemn quickly when Sanosuke flinched and clutched his stomach. 

Kenshin held Sanosuke's hand tighter as he hissed in pain. His eyes searched Sano with silent query, waiting for the signal to fetch Megumi. When the pain had passed and Sanosuke's body was calm again, he noticed Kenshin's hand clamping onto his.

"Kenshin, it's just my stomach. You don't have to hold my hand as if you were my mother," Sanosuke chided.

Kenshin took his hand away, embarrassed. "Sorry."

Sanosuke gave Kenshin a look that said, "It's okay," though he would never say it. 

"So ... why do you think Saitou might be here now?" Sanosuke asked.

Kenshin looked off into the distance, entraced. His thousand yard stare gave Sano the clue that he was searching deep in the painful past of his. 

"With Saitou, I cannot be sure. He is a mystery shrouded in shadows. Maybe as the Battousai I could have understood him, though I doubt I could even then."

"Yes, he's nuts," Sanosuke said, putting it into his own words. 

Kenshin smiled shortly and began to wander off in his own mind again. "Who was the man who attacked you? He may be more important to examine than Saitou."

Sanosuke furrowed his brow. "The guy I _fought_ with ... I'd never seen him before, and I know pretty much everybody in the area. I'm guessing he's new. And fucking dangerous." Sanosuke began rubbing a bruise near his eye. "Not to mention completely insane."

"What does he look like?"

Sanosuke told Kenshin the details of the stranger, from his cold eyes to his billowing robe.

"I don't believe I've ever heard of him either. No matter how hard I search my memory, I've never met anybody like what you've described."

"Che," Sanosuke spat. "With all the psychopaths you've met, this had to be the one you didn't know about?"

Kenshin half-smiled.

Megumi walked in the room after that. Katsuhiro was behind her. He looked as pale as a ghost and twice as solemn. 

"Sanosuke!" Katsuhiro yelled. Color came back to his face as he smiled and rushed to the side of Sanosuke's bed. 

"Calm down Katsu. You look like you thought I might actually die," Sanosuke said, a mischievous edge to his smile.

"Think? Have you looked at yourself lately? You look like a walking corpse," Katsuhiro said, his face going red with frustration. 

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad, am I?" Sanosuke turned to Kenshin. 

The solemn look in Kenshin's eyes was all the answer Sanosuke needed. The smile on Sanosuke's face fell. 

"Megumi ... get me a mirror," he demanded.

Megumi gave Kenshin a cautious look. "Are you sure? You haven't healed all the way and, well, you don't look like yourself."

"Stop jerking me around, I want to see."

Megumi huffed her frustration out through her nose. Shaking her head, she began digging around in her medicine chest. She pulled out a small hand mirror and handed it to Sanosuke. Sano took it from her grip quickly, and looked at himself.

Sanosuke wasn't sure how to react. He stared at himself in that mirror for longer than he meant to. They were right: he did look like a corpse. He was pale and sickly looking, and his cheeks were sunken in. His skin was taught and yellow, and cracked along the lines of his mouth. His eyes were puffy, both of them recovering black eyes. One side of his mouth was very swollen and colored a dark purple.

Sanosuke had to put down the mirror. He wasn't sure how it had come to this, but for the second time since he had faced Saitou Hajime his weakness was displayed out in front of him. Only this time, Saitou hadn't even laid a finger on him. Sanosuke wondered for several long moments, how exactly Saitou always managed to do that. 

"Sanosuke?" Kenshin called quietly. 

"Once I'm out of here, I need to become stronger," he said quietly as a promise to himself.

Katsuhiro and Kenshin exchanged worried glances. 

"I'm tired. You should leave now," Sanosuke said before closing his eyes. 

It was another month before Megumi let Sanosuke leave the clinic. He had no choice after all, his legs were almost completely useless. Over the weeks, he began to get his strength back, but the only reason Megumi let him leave was because he was well enough to be on crutches and screaming to be let out. Before letting him go, Megumi gave Sanosuke more ointment, crèmes, and powders than Sanosuke really knew what to do with, even though Megumi spent ten minutes explaining how to use each one. 

Sleepy and very disgruntled, Sanosuke managed to limp his way back home. He hadn't bothered to wait for any help because he felt he needed none. However, he found himself completely exhausted when he finally reached home. If it weren't for the fact that he still had strength left to glare, the squatters in his apartment might have just stayed for the night again, thinking Sanosuke himself was another squatter. But they fled, and once Sanosuke had moved out his futon, he was fast asleep. 

He woke up several hours later feeling hungry. Barely aware of his motions, he picked himself up and stepped outside. It had become dark. The night was clear and starry, but warm, for spring was slowly turning into summer. Quite a few people were walking through the street, but they were paying no attention to him. Sanosuke moved on to the nearest place he could beg for food: The Akabeto.

When Sanosuke parted the curtain and stepped into the restaurant, Tae turned around as if she were greeting any other customer, but found herself frozen.

"Yo Tae. Think a guy can get some hot food?" he said, smiling a quirky smile 

Tae's eyes were lined with glittering tears, and Sanosuke could tell she was on the brink of crying. 

"Sanosuke! You're feeling well again?" she cried.

"It takes more than a massive head wound to put me out of action. You know that," Sanosuke said, and winked. 

Tsubame then snuck her way over to him with the same happy yet teary look in her eyes. "Sanosuke! Come, sit down!"

"Yes yes, go sit down," Tae said, regaining her composure and ushering him along. "It's just so good to see you again, Sano."

Sanosuke reached out and put an arm around Tae and hugged her. "Always my favorite waitress," he said, and placed a brotherly kiss atop her head. 

Sanosuke was being seated by Tsubame, but as he walked down the aisle of the restaurant, he stopped dead in his tracks. He look to his left and simply stared, his gaze in a place between shock and rage.

"Sanosuke?" Tsubame asked, her voice both curious and frightened. 

Saitou Hajime was sitting at the Akabeto alone, sipping a bowl of hot soba. He had a blank expression on his face, his eyes closed to the world. He seemed completely at peace, which did not seem at all hindered by the presence of Sanosuke. 

This made Sanosuke's fists curl. 

"I'm sitting here Tsubame," Sanosuke said in a low voice, plunking down in front of Saitou. 

"Fujita-san?" Tsubame asked cautiously.

"It's alright," Saitou said with a pleasant smile, and nodded. 

Tsubame looked nervously from one man to the next, but scampered off to go serve other customers and move away from the potentially dangerous situation. 

Sanosuke stared at Saitou as he ate for several long moments. Saitou was not dressed in his police uniform, but instead dressed like anybody else. His outfit was quite like the outfit he had worn the first time he had come to the Kamiya Dojo, disguised as a pharmaceutical salesman. Sanosuke went hot under the collar when he saw that in reality it was the same _exact_ outfit.

"Fancy seeing you here," Sanosuke said in mock-politeness.

Saitou simply took another sip of the broth. 

Sanosuke slammed his fist down on the table, making Saitou's tray rock. "I'd like some explanations," he demanded.

"It's quite stupid of you to begin blaming me for what happened to you. In fact, I believe I warned you to leave," Saitou casually reminded him. 

Sanosuke growled in his throat. He had the sudden urge to spit into Saitou's bowl. 

"I don't give a damn about your intentions. Who the hell was that guy you were with?"

"You mean the one that crushed your skull into the dirt?" Saitou asked. His eyes flipped up from the bowl and stared into Sanosuke's, his amber glare mocking him. 

"That would be the one," Sanosuke growled low, glaring back. 

"He is not someone to concern yourself with. In fact, you should forget all about him." At that, Saitou set his empty bowl down and stood to leave. 

Sanosuke hopped out of his sitting position as fast as he could, finding his balance on his crutches just in time to keep from falling. 

"I'm not going to forget about this! I'm going to find that man, and when I do I'm going to give him the fight of his life!"

Something flew through the air towards Sanosuke. He caught it at his chest and had to cradle it to keep it from hitting the floor. He looked and saw that he had caught a silver billfold with quite a lot of money in it.

"Pay your tab," Saitou spat. He parted the curtain and disappeared into the streets.

Sanosuke found himself staring at the billfold for longer than perhaps he should have. It was quite a lot of money, but Sanosuke had no idea what to do with it. Was Saitou paying him off for his silence? Sanosuke felt very, very weak at the hands of Saitou Hajime, yet again. 

Sanosuke replaced that feeling with something that was more familiar and comfortable to him: anger. Saitou _was_ paying him off. Trying to make him disappear, go away, like the annoying _ahou_ he was. He went hot in the face and walked as fast as he could with his knees complaining beneath him to the end of the restaurant. He slammed the billfold on the counter in front of Tae, who jumped, before walking outside into the warm Tokyo night. 

"Saitou!" he screamed into the darkness. But there was nobody there. Not even when he looked around the corners and into the alleyways, there was no trace of Saitou. Sanosuke let out a frustrated cry and broke his crutches on the side of a building.

He stared at the pile of splinters that used to be his crutches and sighed.

"Aw, crap ..."


	3. Chapter III - The Circle

Lupine Chapter Three - The Circle 

Trees, rocks, and debris of all kinds littered the ground as if a tsunami had ravished the area. In the middle of it all stood Sanosuke, panting and sweating like an animal. After another month of recuperation, he was still having a hard time fighting up to his normal standards. And that was nowhere near good enough.

"I'll never get stronger like this," Sanosuke growled, and doubled over, panting. As he let his body rest for a moment, his mind began to wander without him. He began mulling over in his mind the hard time he was having.

For the past month he and Katsu had been on Saitou and the stranger's tail, but the trail had gone cold after the day at the Akabeto. Neither hide nor hair of both of them came up. They had tried all of Katsu's sources, and had even been to the police department to ask if Saitou had come through there at all.

"Yeah he came through. Over a year ago," snapped the guard at the desk. "Now get out of here, Sanosuke. I don't want to have to see you unless I need to arrest you ... again."

Sanosuke punched the ground. What good were the police if they couldn't keep track of their own officers? He punched the ground again. What good were sources if they had no information?

He let his feet fall from under him and rested on his knees and elbows. His forehead touched the cool earth beneath him. He closed his eyes and saw Saitou Hajime walking out of the Akabeto. That was all he saw when he closed his eyes. And then there was the dream. Between Saitou and the dream, Sanosuke could knew he was slowly losing his mind. Saitou was in his head constantly now, like an obsession. He was an obsession. The stranger barely factored into his thinking anymore: it was all Saitou. Why hadn't Saitou been the one who stopped the stranger? In Sanosuke's mind the stranger became like a puppet under Saitou's control; like a trained attack dog. 

His knees began complaining under him, so Sanosuke rolled over onto his back. He looked up into the darkening sky above. A few stars were out, but only the brightest of them. Sanosuke let himself be hypnotized by them, the twilight blue calming his spirit. Then, as the blue faded to black, Sanosuke decided it was time to give up and go home. 

The moon was full that night, lighting his way in the dark. He stopped at the bridge that was built over the river. He often passed that bridge when he was on his way to the Kamiya Dojo, where Kenshin, Kaoru, and Yahiko were probably already fast asleep. Sanosuke leaned over the railing of the bridge and stared down into the quickly moving water. The silver moon behind him reflected into the river, making the tips of the fast moving waves like thousands of stars flowing through the water. 

As he stared into the river, he began to think about Saitou again. However, this time the frustration did not come with it. Sanosuke just began to wonder exactly what type of a man Saitou was and why he was that way. He was a strong man, he didn't have to be manipulative. So why was he? Why did he exploit an opponent's weakness so? Where was the honor in that? And wasn't honor important to a member of the Shinsengumi? There was a burning curiosity to know exactly what made Saitou the way he was. Was it the feudal times he lived in, or something more?

Sanosuke sighed as he realized that he would never know. Saitou was as good as gone. Except for in his own head, of course. Sanosuke was seeing Saitou in his head so clearly at that moment, it was as if he was standing at the edge of the riverbanks.

Sanosuke kept staring. His mind went elsewhere, but the image of Saitou was still there in front of him. Sanosuke's heart sped up. He blinked several times. Saitou was standing at the edge of the riverbanks. Sanosuke hitched in a breath and took a few steps back. 

Saitou was half-naked, dressed only in a pair of ragged trousers. He didn't even have shoes or socks on. As the moonlight reflected off him he looked as if he were made of marble. His amber eyes seemed to glow like lanterns in the darkness, illuminating his face. And there was some other change, something Sanosuke couldn't see physically. He had gained some sort of strength since the previous year, something great and untamable. Inside, Sanosuke chastised himself for not noticing it before. 

Sanosuke darted to the end of the bridge. He couldn't help himself; there were so many questions that needed answering. He jumped down to the banks and felt his knees underneath him complain. He took a moment to grit through the pain and find balance again. That moment was all that was needed. When he looked up, Saitou was already running down the riverbank with a speed he'd never seen him run before. 

Wasting no time, Sanosuke began running after him. His legs burned underneath him, the muscles threatening to tear, or worse. But he kept moving, keeping his sights on the man ahead. Gradually, Saitou began to disappear further and further over the horizon until Sanosuke couldn't see him anymore. Sanosuke kept running, his determination to catch up to Saitou pushing past all pain. He ran to the peak of a hill and caught sight of Saitou running many yards away. Then Saitou disappeared into a thick of trees.

Sanosuke caved in and skidded to a stop. Doubled over and holding his knees, Sanosuke forced the air into his lungs. Once he caught his breath, he took in his surroundings. 

He had ran further than he had noticed. There were no signs of urban Tokyo anywhere. It was all trees and river.

"Saitou, what in the _world_ are you doing way out here?" Sanosuke wondered aloud. He picked up his feet again and sped towards the last place he had seen Saitou.

There was a break in the trees and Sanosuke stopped in his tracks. He was suddenly faced with a monolith of a house, jutting up from the ground. "Mansion" was a better word for it. The mansion was almost as grand as the old Edo castle, but it had touches of Western architecture mixed in with the traditional Japanese techniques. It was hard to believe that it was so well hidden amongst only a wall of forest. 

Sanosuke heard sounds behind him. Quickly, he dived behind a bush. Several people sped past, barefoot and dressed in tattered clothes. Sanosuke watched them as they reached the outer wall of the mansion. They disappeared behind a curtain of ivy. Sanosuke eyed that spot closely. 

"_That_ must _be where Saitou is_," Sanosuke thought. He eyed a tree next to the wall. Its branches reached over the top, and it was bushy with leaves. Sanosuke grinned to himself. It was the perfect spying vantage point.

Sanosuke grabbed the branches and pulled himself up as high as he could before the branches were too small to support his weight. He looked over the wall and still couldn't see much. There were too many leaves in the way, and he wasn't close enough to the wall. He inched to the edge of the branch, slowly and carefully making sure his weight wouldn't break it. He leaned over once again. He saw that there was a gathering of people below, which struck Sanosuke as odd, seeing as how Saitou wasn't much of a social person. Through the leaves, he could only see their silhouettes, so Sanosuke held out his arm to move the veil of leaves aside and get a better look at the actual people.

That was when he felt the cold steel of a blade at the nape of his neck. 

Sanosuke froze. He pulled his hand back and held the branch to balance himself out as he slowly turned, his eyes following the long blade of the katana to the person who was holding it.

The man was tall and lean, his skin sun-tanned, most likely from hard work in a field. Sanosuke could see the muscles move underneath the skin with every movement. His hair was so blonde it was white, yet he wasn't a foreigner. It was cut short and spiked up, either from gel, or hair that didn't apply to reality. His mouth was unnaturally wide as he curved his mouth up into a smirk. He reminded Sanosuke of a man he had met in Kyoto: Cho the sword hunter. Sanosuke grimaced at the memory. 

"What are you doing up in the trees, kitten?"

Sanouke twitched at being called "kitten".

"I'm lost," Sanosuke spat out, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

He then looked at the way the man was holding his sword. He was obviously too confident. He was barely gripping it at all. 

The man snorted out a laugh. "Lost, are we?" He tilted his head to the side and looked at Sanosuke in a way that made him very uncomfortable. "Little lost kittens don't spy. What are you doing here, kid?"

Sanosuke snorted. He answered by throwing a punch, a punch that would have landed if the man hadn't caught his fist and thrown him off the branch. Sanosuke fell onto the ground with a loud thump, landing on his front. He could feel old bruises and wounds hurting again. Then he felt a strong and calloused pair of hands grab his wrists and hold them behind his back. With his free hand, the man grabbed a thick handful of Sanosuke's hair and pulled him up onto his knees.

Sanosuke felt the line of the man against his back. Although Sanosuke struggled, the man's grip was too tight. His breath came hot against Sanosuke's ear as he whispered into it: "You are a pretty kitten. I wonder if the Ou-sama will let us have a bit of fun with you first ... " The man licked Sanosuke's ear quickly. Sanosuke hitched a breath and sat in shock for a moment, his eyes wide. Then, with a roar of anger, Sanosuke head-butted the man and turned around to hit him. 

Before Sanosuke knew it, he was against the wall, his head shoved against the brick with one hand pressing at his face and the very edge of a sword touching the tip of his throat. A single bead of blood seeped around the tip of the katana, which was held with frightful precision and skill for someone who had seemed just a moment ago to be just full of steam.

Sanosuke had a brief flash of memory of the day in the alleyway. The stranger blurring to existence before him, and the sounds of bone cracking and flesh hitting flesh came to him suddenly. Sanosuke stood still, afraid of what trouble he might have run into by following Saitou. 

The man took the sword away, seeing the look in Sanosuke's eyes. "That's a good kitten. Decided to cooperate?" The man bent down. His lips were centimeters away from the wound at the nape of Sanosuke's neck when ...

"Yukio!" A voice rang sharply through the quiet. The blonde man turned around sharply and glared at the man who now stood a few feet away. He was taller and stronger than the blonde by far. He carried himself less like a criminal, and more like a warrior. Immediately Sanosuke thought to himself: "ex-samurai". His hair was still worn long, and was brown as soil. His eyes were the same brown as his hair. He seemed very plain and non-descript, but the way he carried himself changed all that. He had a katana at his side, sheathed, but looked ever-ready to draw it. 

"I was just having a little fun, Toshiro," laughed Yukio, raising his face away from Sanosuke's neck.

"I know what your idea of _fun_ is, Yukio," Toshiro said in a tone that sounded like a scolding teacher who is tired of a student, "and it will not be tolerated while I am around."

Yukio pulled his hand away from Sanosuke, who immediately lashed back at Yukio, not being so scared of him anymore. But before he could do much, Toshiro was already behind him, pulling him back.

"You are paying for that!" Sanosuke threatened, trying to tear himself from Toshiro's grip. 

Yukio only winked, then turned his back to continue patrolling the perimeter of the courtyard walls. 

Sanosuke growled in his throat. Once Yukio was out of sight Toshiro stopped holding Sanosuke back and he brushed himself off. He began mumbling under his breath, every once and a while a word came spiking up, but he said nothing discernable. 

"Thanks for getting him away from me," Sanosuke said, turning to Toshiro.

"Do not thank me," he said in a calm, almost soothing tone, "for you have yet to deal with the Ou-sama."

Sanosuke frowned. "Shit. I thought you were one of the good guys."

"I am." Toshiro held out his arm, guiding Sanosuke in the direction of the portion of the wall covered heavily in vines. 

Sanosuke weighed the possibilities. The man seemed honorable enough ... and judging from the look of him, he was probably stronger than Yukio. At the time, Sanosuke wasn't up for another beating. Besides, what better way to see what was inside, than to go inside? He could always fight his way out later if things got rough.

Toshiro led him to the curtain of vines and revealed a wooden door imbedded in the wall. He opened the door and shoved Sanosuke inside quickly. Sanosuke turned around once inside, but the door was already slammed in his face. He banged against it once, shouting a loud "hey!"

But he only hit it once, for he felt eyes upon him then. Not just a few. He knew there were many people behind him, and he could feel their anger of his trespass burn against his back. Slowly, he turned. 

The crowd of people was rather large: around thirty, if he estimated right. They were all standing in a bunched circle around him. They all stared at him, each with one of three emotions on their faces: curiosity, anger, or apathy. 

As he searched the crowd, he felt himself go red in the face. At least half the people were either half-naked, or they had opted to not wear clothes at all. 

A hard shove pushed him further into the courtyard. Sanosuke began to turn around again, but another hard shove knocked him in the shoulder and he tripped over his feet, falling to the ground. 

Sanosuke pushed himself up onto his elbows and glared up at the man who had pushed him. This man had hair that was cut close to his scalp. His head was circled with a white, wrapped headband. He was built in the same way as Toshio was, but seemed a lot meaner.

"Hey, asshole! What do you think you're doing, pushing me around like that?" Sanosuke spat, showing no fear in the face of the man's scowl.

"Get back up," the man commanded, jutting his chin in the direction he wanted Sanosuke to go. 

Sanosuke picked himself up, and glared at the guy. 

"Go!" he said, motioning with a stick where he wanted Sanosuke to move. 

"No," Sanosuke refused. "Don't tell me what to fuckin' do." 

Sanosuke was struck in the side of the face with the branch. It stung, but didn't do any damage. Sanosuke held the spot and stared at the man. 

"What the _hell_ was that for?"

"Just 'git!" he yelled.

Sanosuke gritted his teeth. "Did you just _slap_ me?"

"Go," the man said, his tone dangerously low. 

Sanosuke felt the anger spike up the hairs on the back of his neck. Immediately, he knew he wasn't going to like this guy. But he turned and went, just as was asked of him, but with his hands stubbornly crossed over his chest. 

The people in the crowd were still watching him, and their eyes had become seemingly more curious than before. There was a strange stillness to the crowd, and there wasn't a single sound except the sound of Sanosuke's feet beneath him. He turned back to see that the man with the stick was still standing where he had been, but with enough authority in his eyes to make Sanosuke keep moving. 

Sanosuke eventually found himself before a stone chair. It was several flat beds of rock arranged into the shape of a throne, and several artifacts adorned it: animal skeletons, beads, herbs, and stains that looked like blood. A gut feeling made him cringe and he took a step back. 

Out of the corner of his eye Sanosuke saw an amber gleam. It made him whirl his head around immediately. Saitou's amber eyes were glaring at him. He was standing on the outside of the circle of people, and his glare couldn't be deadlier.

Sanosuke glared back. 

"You," Sanosuke growled. He began to walk towards Saitou, but something else caught his eye. 

A man had appeared just behind the throne. He was standing with his arm over the back of it. This man was elder, but not old. His hair and chest-length beard was white, yet his body and skin showed little signs of deterioration. Unlike everybody else there, who were dressed like they were homeless, or not dressed at all, this man was wearing robes fit for a Shogun lord of old. They were white and lined with purple chords, ties, and thread. 

"Boy. Your name," the man demanded. 

Sanosuke was so taken aback by the power in the older man's voice that he answered "Sanosuke" before he even had time to think. 

He moved closer towards Sanosuke a few steps, but was still not very close. 

"Hajime?" the man asked. "Do you know this man?"

"Just an _ahou_, who feels the need to prove himself in order to justify his existence," was Saitou's reply.

"My name is not _ahou_, its Sanosuke!" He snorted and went red in the face. 

The Ou-sama and Saitou regarded Sanosuke for a few short moments before conversing with each other again.

"Just send him on his way. He's not much of a concern for our well-being," Saitou reassured the Ou-sama. 

"I'm not a concern for _you_?" Sanosuke inquired.

"Are you sure, Hajiime? We cannot risk our unmasking, not now," the Ou-sama continued, ignoring Sanosuke.

"He wouldn't know enough _kanji_ to write a police complaint," said Saitou, deadpanned.

"I don't know. A king shouldn't be so trustworthy of strangers ..." said a low, wispy voice. The voice struck Sanosuke like a ton of ice, chilling him to the bone. Behind Saitou stepped out the stranger that had attacked him in the alleyway. He wasn't naked, but damn close to it; he was only wearing underwear. He put a hand on Saitou's shoulder and leaned against him. Saitou seemed to cringe at the touch. 

"So this is where you've been hiding, you bastard." Sanosuke punched his fist into his other palm. "You and I have a bit of a score to settle."

The stranger only continued on, but with his icy eyes locked onto Sanosuke's. "We should do with this one what we've always done to trespassers. Kill him."

Sanosuke's entire body jerked and his eyes went wide. He looked quickly to the Ou-sama. Luckily, he didn't look like he was considering it.

"That was the past, Masayo," the Ou-sama argued.

"It is our way," Masayo replied. "These traditions have been in place since the Shogunate Era, and in the ages before."

Saitou raised a hand and Masayo fell silent. "In these days of the Meiji, disappearances and deaths will not go unnoticed, as they did in the past. Better to let him go, and make him forget what he saw."

"It'll be easy enough to kill him. If his friend hadn't showed up, and Hajime insisted that we leave, he would be dead right now. So why don't I just finish what I started?" Masayo hissed. 

"You assaulted this man before? You are responsible for leading him here. Why shouldn't I punish _you_?" the Ou-sama scolded.

"Come on, old man," said Masayo. As he said it there was some shuffling in the crowd. Calling him an old man was obviously disrespectful. "It won't be so bad. His blood is very sweet."

Sanosuke and the Ou-sama collectively jumped. 

"That's disgusting!" cried out Sanosuke. "After you ... you tasted my blood? You had no right ... that's my body!"

"Not for much longer ..." teased Masayo. 

Sanosuke growled and posed himself for a fight. "Come over here and say that to my face, you sick bastard." 

The Ou-sama saw something in Masayo's movements that Sanosuke wasn't aware of. "Masayo, control yourself!" he shouted. 

Sanosuke held his fists up and braced himself as the blur of motion sped towards him. But before he could even throw his punch, not just Masayo, but also Saitou was in front of him. Saitou was holding Masayo's fist in his palm, blocking Masayo from reaching Sanosuke. Before Sanosuke could even realize how unexpected Saitou's move had been, he was distracted by a noise: a disgusting, squelching, organic noise.

He turned and saw that many of the people in the circle were now on their hands and knees as if praying, but they moaned as if in agony. A popping, snapping sound was coming from them, and Sanosuke didn't know why. Some were crying out and Sanosuke felt the need to help, but he didn't know what to do for them. 

There was one boy in front, only a few feet from Sanosuke. He was around Sanosuke's age, nineteen or twenty. The boy looked up at Sanosuke and his eyes glowed with a hazel hue, as if someone were holding fire behind his brown eyes. The boy was regarding Sanosuke with curiousity, but the pain twisted his face, and he lowered his head to the ground again. There was a splitting sound and the skin on his back opened. Sanosuke recoiled in terror, but was shocked to see that the boy wasn't bleeding. Rather than blood, an oozy, milky substance seeped from the wound, covering his body, and dripping into a puddle beneath him. Beneath the split skin was something dark and wet. Sanosuke first thought it might be muscle, but it was too black, and didn't bleed. 

Sanosuke couldn't even scream. He'd never seen anything like this, and had no idea how to react. As he backed up, his back hit something hard. 

"_Saitou, it must be Saitou, fighting Masayo_," Sanosuke guessed. He turned around. His plan was to stop the fight and ask what the hell was going on. But that plan was derailed.

The force of the impact was strong enough to knock Sanosuke on his back. He felt the weight of someone else, perhaps two people, on top of him. He hadn't caught his wind again when he felt cuts go across his body. Sanosuke's first thought was that Masayo and Saitou were sword fighting. But swords did not come so quickly and so many, no matter how you handled them. He tried to open his eyes but the last thing he saw before he passed out was a flurry of motion. He felt something soft against his skin and saw glimpses of things pale as ivory, and as sharp as bone. But then he felt something clamp down onto his neck. Like a million stab wounds they pierced his flesh, causing Sanosuke to cry out in agony. Yet still more pain came, tearing at him. He felt himself become faint, lying in a pool of his own blood. Then the world became black. 

He raged on against the wind once more. He was so much closer to It. His fingers touched It and It was his! Sanosuke felt the anticipation of gaining something he had worked to achieve for so long rush through him as he held It up to finally see what it had been that he was chasing after all this time.

Even in the dream, Sanosuke's face fell. In his hands he held a man's heart, still warm, it's blood oozing down his arm. He screamed. Screamed until the very ground beneath him shattered like glass and he was falling through an abyss. There was nothing to grab on to, nothing to catch him. He was falling, falling forever, the echoes of his scream his only companion.


	4. Chapter IV - Awakening as Something New

Lupine Chapter Four - Awakening As Something New 

Sanosuke found himself standing at the center of a clearing in the middle of a darkened wood. He was no longer holding the heart, but the blood still oozed off of his hands, down his arms, and dripped onto the forest floor. Sanosuke shook his hands in front of him, trying to be rid of the blood, but it wouldn't come off. He held his hands far out in front of him; he wouldn't dare get his hands anywhere near his body. 

He felt all the little hairs on his body stand on end. He could tell there was something watching him. Tension grew in the air around him. Sanosuke didn't move, didn't breathe, didn't make a sound. But neither did whatever was watching him. 

Something triggered him - he wouldn't remember if it were a sound, a vision or perhaps just a feeling - and he began running. He could feel something chasing after him as he passed tree after tree with blurring speed. He maneuvered the forest through the dark night as though he had memorized every tree and flower. Yet Sanosuke knew he had never been to this place. 

Soon, he felt the presence of his pursuer nipping close at his heels. Literally. Sanosuke caught his foot on a fallen branch and fell onto his face. Quickly, he turned over in hopes of at least fighting whatever it was off. 

He found himself face-to-face with a black wolf. The wolf had bright amber eyes and fangs that glistened in the faint light of the stars and the moon. In a blur of speed, fur, and fangs, the wolf clamped its jaws onto Sanosuke's face, shaking his head violently and swallowing him up.

Sanosuke screamed and sat up in the bed, his hands clawing at the air in front of him. It took him a while to control his breathing and vision, but after a few panicked moments he sighed and clutched his heart, lying back down onto the soft pillow. He closed his eyes again, feeling too tired to be awake just yet. Then he noticed something strange. He didn't know where he was. 

Sanosuke scooted up on the bed, looking around the room. He was lying on a rather large western bed with a canopy. The canopy was lined with sheer white curtains tied to the four tall mahogany bedposts. There was a dresser in one corner and a screen in another, and also an oak chest at the end of the bed. He wondered what kind of high-collar lived there. And why the hell was _he_ there?

The screen to the room opened. Sanosuke could only stare when he saw who was in the doorway. He examined Sanosuke for a moment with something like curiousity.

"I guess I won't be needing these," Saitou said, deadpanned, as he threw a bamboo box into a bin next to the bed. 

Without a word to Sanosuke, Saitou sat on the bed next to him. Saitou reached out to touch him around the waist, but Sanosuke quickly squirmed away. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sanosuke cried out.

Saitou's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Checking for wounds, what did you think I was doing?"

Sanosuke pulled the sheets closer to himself. "How the hell am I supposed to know what kind of man you are? I can't open up a newspaper these days without reading about some poor guy getting raped, so excuse me for being a little on the cautionary side."

Saitou snorted. "I would think a man like you would be too proud to admit vulnerability."

Sanosuke glared back, not saying another word to the other man.

"Really, I need to check you for wounds," Saitou said, reaching out to Sanosuke again.

"I can check myself," Sanosuke growled, jerking away from Saitou. 

"Suit yourself," Saitou said nonchalantly, backing away respectfully.

Sanosuke was mumbling quite disgruntled for a moment, but then he got a look of his body. He was completely covered in dried blood. For a moment, Sanosuke couldn't move or breathe. He didn't know quite how to react.

"Whose blood is this?" Sanosuke asked, his voice panicky.

"Yours, of course," Saitou said, as though it should be quite obvious. 

Sanosuke looked up at Saitou, his face panic-stricken. It couldn't possibly be true. There was so much blood, and yet Sanosuke felt fine. 

Sanosuke could only laugh to relieve the tension. "You're kidding me right? With all this blood, I should be dead. And where are my wounds? Give me a break. You've become a terrible liar, Saitou."

"Actually, I've become quite good at it over the past year. But that's beside the point. Yes, that blood is yours. However, your wounds seemed to have healed ... quite nicely." He said this last part with some tone of regret.

Sanosuke gave him a sideways look. "What's the matter, upset I'm not dead?"

Saitou stood up. "Yes, actually."

Sanosuke gritted his teeth and glared at him. 

"So, if this is all my blood, I must have been unconscious for a long time, right?" he asked.

"A day," Saitou replied, slipping his hands into his pockets. 

Sanosuke laughed. "Now I know you're lying. This blood can't be mine." Sanosuke fell silent and went pale as he noticed the morbid thing he had just said. If not his blood, whose was it?

Saitou just smirked. "I suggest we discuss this over dinner. Get changed and washed up. There's a washroom down the hallway, and a spare set of clothes for you to wear. I'll be waiting."

With that, Saitou left. Sansouke had the urge to just get up and leave, but he heard the water boiling in the other room and his stomach responded with a loud grumbling sound. 

"_I'll steal a meal, then I'll go_," Sanosuke decided, getting up from the bed. In the washroom down the hallway, Sanosuke grabbed a clean cloth and wiped himself off as well as he could. There were some stubborn spots that Sanosuke got frustrated with, so he threw the cloth aside and jumped into the clothes Saitou had set aside for him. He was wearing a pair of slacks and a simple black shirt. Sanosuke snorted. It was half of Saitou's police uniform. He turned to go, and noticed something about his body. There was no pain. The complaining knee wasn't complaining anymore. The old bruises around cracked ribs weren't there anymore. He rotated his body to test it out. He was perfectly healthy. For some reason, Sanosuke found this unnerving. 

He then looked at himself in the mirror. Something was off about him. He realized what was missing and ran into the room where Saitou was spooning rice into a bowl.

"Saitou? Have you seen my ..."

Saitou dug into his pocket and pulled out Sanosuke's red hairband. It was tattered, but otherwise perfectly fine.

"I had to take it off of you. You were running a fever earlier," Saitou explained.

"Oh," Sanosuke said meekly. He took the headband from Saitou and tied it around his head swiftly. "Thank you."

"Have a seat," Saitou suggested. 

Sanosuke eyed Saitou warily as he took a seat at the table. Saitou set down a box of Unagi.

Sanosuke eyed the food. "You're not poisoning me or anything, are you?"

Saitou frowned. "You haven't even _tried_ my cooking."

"I'm sure it's fine," Sanosuke said sarcastically. "But you've been _extra polite_. You can understand why I'm a little wary."

Saitou smiled, mischief in the curve. "I think you know me better than I thought you did. No, _ahou_, I did not poison your food. If I wanted to kill you, I would have had you eat my sword." He picked up his chopsticks. 

Sanosuke bit his tongue to keep him from saying something else. He picked up his chopsticks as well, and dug into the Unagi. After he finished the first bite, he had a puzzled expression on his face.

"Is there something the matter?" Saitou asked.

"No, nothing. Well, that's what I'm confused about. Honestly, I thought your cooking would taste like shit. This is good though, this is good." Sanosuke dug into the box of eel again, wolfing it down faster than ever. 

Saitou only raised his eyebrow and continued eating. 

"So, are we going to get around to how all that blood got on me, or are we going to sit in silence like a good 'ol dysfunctional family?" Sanosuke asked.

"I would prefer the latter, but I do owe you an explanation. So, do you remember anything about last night?"

Sanosuke looked away, searching his memory. "It's kind of fuzzy but ... I followed you to this big mansion, and there were a bunch of people in this courtyard place. Then that asshole - Masayo, I think you called him - rushed me. Then ... you were actually protecting me. Then I heard something behind me ... after that it's totally blank. I'll probably remember later," Sanosuke said with a shrug, shoving rice into his mouth. 

"Perhaps, perhaps not," Saitou muttered. "This loss of memory may be for the best at this stage."

Sanosuke raised an eyebrow. 

"Masayo and I were, unfortunately, engaged in battle right above you. You were unconscious by the time it got really serious, but still, there was much blood. I was certain you were dead for a while." Saitou took a bite of his Unagi. There was a long silence as Saitou ate his food.

Sanosuke became impatient. "... And?"

Saitou took another small bite of rice. "And the Ou-sama took you into the house and had his personal physician look at you. You were bleeding very badly, and running a fever. Then, your bleeding simply ... stopped."

Sanosuke shared another quiet moment with Saitou. 

"You really expect me to believe that?" Sanosuke snorted. "People don't just stop bleeding. I should know, 'cause I bleed a lot."

"Yes. _People_ don't just stop bleeding. But we're not really people, are we, Sanosuke?" Saitou looked Sanosuke directly in the eye then, and it made Sanosuke very nervous. Sanosuke felt himself getting goose bumps all over, as though a cold breeze had tickled his skin. 

"Cut the abstract crap, Saitou," Sanosuke growled. "I just want to know how I managed to get all that blood on me ... and why the hell I woke up in _your_ bed."

Saitou nodded. "I already told you whose blood it was. And as for how you got there, the Ou-sama asked if I could take care of you, until you turn. He thought it would be better if you adjusted to your change around somebody you knew, rather than a complete stranger."

Sanosuke furrowed his brow. "Change? What _change_? Saitou, have you gone completely insane?"

"No, I am being truthful, although insanity may seem from time to time what truth is. I should know. These changes you will go through are the same changes I went through, one year ago."

Sanosuke rolled his eyes. "I already went through puberty, okay man?"

Saitou 'humph'ed a short laugh. "These changes are a bit more painful than puberty."

Sanosuke snorted, drumming his fingers on the table. "I hate going around in circles. Are you going to tell me what happened, or should I just leave?"

Saitou paused for another moment. He took his time and ate some more of his meal, then said to Sanosuke: "You won't like it."

"Well, I really don't care at this point," rebutted Sanosuke.

"Very well." Saitou placed his chopsticks down. He folded his hands over his legs. 

"One year ago, I was on a case. There was a new opium ring, though they weren't only trafficking opium. They had many new drugs that were ready for the streets. My assignment was this: get inside this ring, disguised as a dirty cop, and assassinate the ringleader."

"So, what? I'm dealing with drug lords?" Sanosuke asked.

Saitou gave Sanosuke a very disconcerted look.

"Okay, okay, I'll shut up," Sanosuke said, his hands up defensively. 

"When I arrived at their headquarters," Saitou continued, "I recognized the house immediately. It had formerly been the home of a quite powerful shogun lord, one whom I served under once as a Shinsengumi. Now that lord lays dead, killed in the Boshin Wars, and his house is in quite the state of disrepair. The people in the village seemed convinced that the spirits of the shogun's family still live there, as they hear eerie noises coming from the home constantly. I let them have their little superstitions; I didn't want anybody interfering with my investigation.

"I met with the leader of the ring, and gave him a line that criminals usually bite right into: I told him of my history as a Shinsengumi, and that assassination was the only job fit for a man like me in this day and age. Unfortunately for me, I had no idea what they were at the time and they smelled the lie on me."

"So, the Miburo was sniffed out, huh?" Sanosuke said, and smiled. He couldn't help but find it amusing, however Saitou didn't look like he was about to crack a smile.

"The irony doesn't escape me," he said, straight-faced. Sanosuke stifled his laugh and Saitou continued.

"Do you remember seeing us move?" Saitou asked. "You saw the speed and strength when we were running by the riverbanks. I'm sure you saw it in that fool, Masayo."

Sanosuke nodded, wondering where he was going with this.

"They pounced on me like animals before my hand was even on my sword. I remember the leader of the ring telling me that they 'don't deal with humans' before somebody hit me hard enough that I blacked out."

Sanosuke's shifted in his seat. He had experienced the speed and strength of Saitou, and he had a scar on his right shoulder as evidence. Being pounced by a bunch of thugs was uncharacteristic at best, frightening at worst. Saitou wasn't the type to be caught off-guard, especially when he knew there would be danger.

"I woke up later chained to a wall someplace dark and damp. I had heard rumors when I was working under the shogun that he had a holding cell below the house, hidden deep underground. I knew that must be where I was. The place smelled like old death and rot. They had taken my shirt and used my own sword to open a deep wound in my chest. A few feet from me hung my sword, dangling like a morbid ornament. They thought it would be funny to tie a note to it that said: 'Wolves use claws, not swords'. I paid no attention to the sign and began to look around me. Much to my amusement, the chains were ancient and weak. It was easy enough to pull the bolts out of the wall, letting one hand shackled, but free. I began to work on the other one, but I became distracted ..."

Saitou looked aside and his eyes glassed over, as though he were picturing the events in his mind. Sanosuke leaned over the table, becoming more and more interested in Saitou's story every moment.

"Something came out of the darkness then. Something that looked like a man, but he was moving like an animal, on all fours, and it looked completely familiar and natural to him. His eyes glowed blue in the darkness like two moons and they stayed locked on the spot where they had cut me. I saw a hunger in his eyes, a need that was so much like an animal I wondered it he'd lived in the cave for his entire life. Then ... he began to change."

"Change?" Sanosuke asked, low as a whisper. "What do you mean, change?"

"You know what I mean," Saitou said. "Last night, you saw them begin to change."

An image entered Sanosuke's mind and he immediately chased it out. "I don't know what you're talking about," he lied.

Saitou stared at him, long and hard. Saitou knew Sanosuke was lying, and Sanosuke wasn't uncomfortable lying to him, but lying to himself was something Sanosuke couldn't do. He began to see images of people writhing while milky ooze came out of their skin when it broke and shed like snake-skin to reveal something underneath, something not human.

"His bones began to twist and contort under his skin," Saitou began, aiding Sano's visuals, "the spine bowed and he let out an inhuman scream as his skin tore and split, revealing what I first thought was muscle, but then a substance too organic to mention fell off him like water on bird feathers and I saw that it wasn't muscle, it was fur.

"_Fur. I remember feeling fur on top of me last night, pinning me to the ground,_" Sanosuke remembered.

"So then this thing came towards me, looking like a wolf but standing tall and upright like a man, it's teeth bared, drooling and snarling. I understood what the hunger in its eyes was. He was nothing much more than a starved beast and I was the first piece of meat he'd seen in far too long. 

"In what was nothing but a blur of motion, it was suddenly on top of me, it's claws digging into my shoulders. Its head was pulled back, ready to strike and devour me, before I caught the glint of my sword. It only took me a split second before I remembered 'wolves use claws, not swords'. In that split second before it struck, I jammed my thumb into its eye. It howled in pain and tore itself away from me, clutching at its eye. I used that time to free another manacle as quickly as I could. I jumped onto the thing's back and wrapped the chains around its neck and began to squeeze. It reached behind itself and put its claws into me again, but I kept squeezing for a few minutes until the thing eventually passed out. As soon as it was down, I took my sword down and cut its head off."

"You _killed_ it?" Sanosuke laughed and shook his head. "Sounds like you; you didn't even know who or what it was, and you killed it."

"I wasn't about to risk it coming after me again," Saitou said. "I wouldn't have been able to stand another attack. My upper body was so torn that it was as good as stripped meat."

The visual made Sanosuke flinch. "Shit," he swore. "How the hell did you get out of the cave?"

"I didn't," Saitou said. "I'd lost so much blood, all I wanted was to pass out again. But I knew that if I were going to pass out, it had better not be out in the open. I found some old whicker candles lying around and lit them with the matches I keep with me. There was a little crevice big enough for me to hide in. I don't know what I was thinking. I should have at least tried looking for a way out; I could have bled to death there."

"But you didn't," Sanosuke said, pointing to Saitou as if he needed reminding that he was there. "So, how did you survive?"

"The same way you did," he told Sanosuke.

He stopped and tried to speak, but couldn't come up with any words, confused as to what Saitou meant. "What do you mean?" Sano finally said.

"If all that blood wasn't yours, whose was it?"

Sanosuke stared at the floor inquisitively, like the answer would be written somewhere on it. "I ... I don't know."

"It's _yours_," Saitou told him again.

It may have been the nervousness, but Sanosuke laughed. "I'm telling you, it can't be."

Saitou gave him a look that said he wasn't joking at all. "You were shredded like cloth, worse off than I was in that cave. The Ou-sama and I could barely keep Masayo at bay, there was so much blood."

Sanosuke's body became one big tense muscle. He made his hand into a fist in a way that cracked his knuckles without pressure.

"How did you survive the cave?" he demanded through gritted teeth. Saitou was beating around the bush, teasing him, avoiding the answer to the questions. It was too much torment for Sanosuke, and it was really starting to piss him off. 

Saitou just tilted his head to the side and said coolly: "It was easy. Shapeshifters can heal almost any kind of wound."

Sanosuke's eyes went wide. There wasn't belief or disbelief yet, just shock at his answer. It was an answer he didn't know how to react to. 

"That thing inside the cave was a man, yes, but he was also a shapeshifter," Saitou continued. "Of the wolf variety particularily, a man that the moon controlled, one who beomces a beast at the call of a full moon. That day when he sunk the claws of his beast into my skin, something entered my body. Before I killed it, that wolf had passed something on to me. I had contracted my own beast.

"Sanosuke, I've been a shapeshifter for over a year, and I know, without a doubt, that you have found yourself in the way of the wolf as well."


	5. Chapter V - Accidents Happen

Lupine Chapter Five - Accidents Happen 

"I'm not a _wolf_," he yelled. "What the hell kind of bullshit are you trying to feed me?"

Saitou rolled his eyes and groaned. Sanosuke had been screaming at him for the last fifteen minutes; their food was now cold and they had gotten no further than they had at the beginning of the night. Saitou had the strong urge to knock the younger man unconscious, but that would get them nowhere as well.

"Lower your voice, _ahou_. I have neighbors to be considerate of," Saitou asked, his common politeness masking the fact that it was an order. He picked up his cup of tea and took a sip from it.

"Yeah, wouldn't want the neighbors to know that _Saitou Hajime is a complete loony_!" Sanosuke screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Lower your voice," Saitou commanded.

"Or what? You'll eat me? Fine. Eat me, wolf of Mibu!"

"_Ahou_ ..."

"What kind of lie is that anyway? A shapeshifter. Who'd believe that? I know I'm superstitious, but not that badly!" Sano leaned over the table and gave Saitou his best glare. "Why did you keep me in your house, really? What are you, just an old pervert, is that it?"

Saitou sneered and in that moment he really did look like a wolf. His canines were bared and his eyes seemed somehow fiercer. "Why the hell would I make up a story like this? It really happened and now it's happened to you. I wouldn't be keeping you here if I didn't have to. It's not my job to baby-sit a stubborn boy like you, but now because of you I've been given this task."

"You're talking like you got me pregnant. Or are you going to tell me I've transformed into a woman now, too? Oh, no, wait! I know! I'm really a rooster. A _shapeshifting rooster_!"

"Don't mock me ..."

"I'm out of here. Whatever in hell you had planned for me, you can just forget it, Saitou!"

He began to stand up, but Saitou reached across the table and grabbed him by the hair before Sanosuke even saw him move. Saitou's hand was clamped over the other man's mouth. Sanosuke's eyes flew wide open with shock and fear. Saitou's tea had spilled across the table when he moved and began dripping off the sides, settling into a pool on the hard wood floor.

"Must I remind you," Saitou asked, whispering dangerously low, "that I am now known as Gorou Fujita? Certain securities rely on my anonymity. Please refrain from screaming my name loud enough for people down the street to hear."

Sanosuke frowned deeply. He bit down on Saitou's hand, hard. Saitou made a surprised hiss and pulled his hands away quickly. Sanosuke jumped up abruptly and headed for the door, but as he slid the screen aside he felt a hand grab him and jerk the collar of his shirt.

"You don't know what is waiting for you out there," Saitou warned.

"Whatever is out there is better than being stuck in this house with you," Sanosuke spat, glaring over his shoulder at Saitou.

"You've never been stuck here; you're not my prisoner. You can come and go as you please." With that, Saitou abruptly released Sanosuke's collar.

"Oh yeah? Well what about just now? It might just be me but it looked like you didn't want me to leave."

"I wanted you to stop screaming my name, I never said you had to stay," corrected Saitou.

With a dark glare Sanosuke e darted off of Saitou's porch. As he was walking down the road, he heard something land on the ground behind him. 

"You forgot your shoes," Saitou called out. Sanosuke looked back and saw him standing in front of his door lighting a cigarette and watching him leave.

"Fuck you!" Sanosuke screamed, grabbing his shoes off the dusty ground and running off.

Saitou watched as he disappeared around the corner of a dark city street. The roads were bathed in silver, illuminated by a near-full moon. Saitou looked up to it; it was only one day into its waning cycle. It was still too soon.

"I'll have to keep an eye on that boy," he said to himself before walking back into his house. There was no point in wasting good food, especially when prepared so meticulously. Saitou sat down at his table and stripped a piece of eel meat off the dead fish's bones. He stared at it reluctantly, wondering if he even had the time to finish his meal of rice and eel. "_I had better get out there soon_," he thought to himself. "_The idiot is going to get himself killed_."

Sanosuke's face burned red with anger as he stomped down the road. All this time he had questions he needed answered, reasons to see Saitou, and what happens? Saitou lies a horrible, absurd lie. He became even angrier when he thought about how Saitou probably thought he was going to buy it, and an extra sack of bullshit too.

Sanosuke kicked a rock down the street and watched it as it skipped so far that he couldn't see it anymore. As he walked and kicked around the stray pebble, he began to wonder about the holes that Saitou hadn't filled him in on. Who was Masayo? What the hell was the "Ou-sama"? How long had he really been unconscious? And was there any truth to the story Saitou had told about being bitten by a shapeshifter? 

"_That's it_," Sano promised himself. "_I don't care anymore. This obsession is getting out of hand. Better to leave the past in the past, just like Kenshin does. If I see Saitou again, I'll ignore him. Maybe. No! I will ignore him! Willpower, Sano, willpower!_"

He eventually found his way to familiar streets and was able to get back to his home. The thought of curling up onto his own futon felt relaxing even before he got to his door. He stepped onto the porch, but before he could even touch the screen, a voice came from behind him.

"From the way things are going, I would think you forgot about me, _Zanza..._"

"_Crap_," swore Sanosuke inside his head. "Nice to hear from you Magori," he lied through his teeth.

The little toad-like man walked up to Sanosuke, looking as much as ever like he had just eaten something sour. 

"I hope you haven't forgotten: you owe me money," Magori reminded Sanosuke.

Sanosuke rolled his eyes. "Look, I know I said I'd pay you back, but I've been ... ah ... sick. I couldn't go on the trip. Just give me a few more weeks, okay man?"

"I already gave you a few more weeks. Before that I gave you a few more days. What next? A few more years? I can't put up with that. It's not good business, you understand?"

"It's not like that," argued Sanosuke. "I've been going through a lot of ... a lot."

"Well, I hope you find comfort in the fact that you don't have to worry about any of it anymore," said Magori. 

"Yeah I ... hey, what do you mean?" Sanosuke asked.

Magori reached inside his robe and pulled out a pistol. The new six-shooter gleamed silver, the rays of the moon causing the metal to glow brightly. He aimed the barrel at Sanosuke, who froze at the sight of it.

"I can't let myself be taken lightly. I'm going to make an example of you to all the other people that owe me. I'm sorry Sanosuke, but its just business," Magori chuckled in amusement, his expression crooked.

Sanosuke stared down the black barrel of the pistol. A distasteful cringle ran through him. He hated those things, those machines. And now he hated Magori, who was too much of a coward to fight without such an unfair piece of technology. To Sanosuke, a gun was cheating. He couldn't stand the sight of it.

"Point that thing away from me," Sanosuke growled.

Sanosuke heard he click of the trigger and reacted without thinking. He dove to the side and by some miracle the bullet missed him. But then he found himself on his back, cornered against a wall, and a gun barrel pointed at his head. He seethed, his rage boiling over like a pot of stew.

He yelled out and his eyes became a visionless with rage. "_All the shit that's happened in the last few months ... Saitou, Masayo. Everybody is trying to screw with me! And now, this little prick thinks he can pull a gun on me!_"

Before Magori had the chance to pull the trigger again, Sanosuke stood up and kicked the pistol out of the Magori's hands, who watched as it skidded down the road. Sanosuke punched Magori in the chest, sending the man back into the building across the road. Wood and dust scattered all around him, burying Magori in the debris.

Sanosuke smirked to himself. "_I don't remember being this strong_," he thought. "_I must have been doing something right over the last few days of training. I could sure show Saitou not to mess around with me now!_"

Sanosuke walked over to the pile where Magori lay. "Sorry. I got a little serious there." A confident smile curved his lips upwards.

There was no reaction from Magori.

"Oi! Magori! Get yer ass up! Get out of here before I tell the cops you're carryin' around a pistol." Sanosuke kicked the man's foot. There was still no reaction.

He leaned over the pile, and he felt as thought his heart had stopped working. A bitter taste rolled over his tongue, fear grabbing at his nerves. Magori's eyes were wide and staring upwards as if to the heavens, his mouth open in a voiceless scream. His robe was open, revealing a hole in his chest the size of a fist. Rib bones stuck out in every direction, and his heart was visible, tissue and blood scattered as though it had exploded.

Sanosuke looked down at his fist. It was covered to the wrist in blood. He could do nothing but stare at the wretched blood that stuck to his skin. He felt a deeper sense of fear run through him when he realized he had seen his hands bloody like this once before. It was followed by a chase. He had been devoured. It was just like the dream; like the warning. But now it was too late to pay heed to that warning.

He heard the sounds of footsteps nearby. He whipped his head around and saw a silhouette coming towards him. A red spark of light grew brighter in the darkness, and then dimmed as a cloud of smoke wafted around the figure in the dark. Saitou stood there, staring at Sanosuke, his amber eyes glowing sharply in the moonlight. There was no readable expression in his face.

Sanosuke retreated in small steps. "_I didn't mean to_," he thought, and it showed through his eyes. They were almost pleading for some sort of forgiveness, but Saitou still showed nothing in his face. The two men shared those desperate moments of deafening silence in the empty road. Sanosuke heard the noise of his heart beat in his ears and would swear that it was going to kill him. Then he turned and did the only thing he could think of to do. 

He ran away.


	6. Chapter VI - Runaway

Lupine Chapter Six - Runaway 

Himura Kenshin stood at the edge of the river, his mind wandering as it often did. Fireflies passed him by in a green symphony of light, and he began to remember the summers past when he had watched the fireflies pass through the memories he had made there. They were memories of him and Kaoru, of him and all his family in Tokyo. His mind began to also wander to the many battles he fought for the peace that he was living; Jin-e, Shishio, Enishi ... Reminiscing made him feel tired, but more than that he felt at peace. Having the past truly in the past was the best thing he could have wished for. He had beaten the evils that tried to take his peace away; there was nothing left but the future. He closed his eyes for a moment and turned his mind to other things.

The fireflies whisked around another figure standing in the shadows of a great willow tree. He stood tall, black clothes clinging to his figure. The clothes made Kenshin have to look twice before he knew who it was. Sanosuke was wearing uncharacteristically western clothes: black shirt and a dark blue pair of slacks, but he wore his normal black slippers and red headband, the only remnants of Japanese dress left on him.

"Sanosuke?" Kenshin called out. "Is that you?"

The other man opened his mouth, but no words came out, as if they were floating somewhere in limbo. He closed his mouth again, gritting his teeth as the words burned inside him, chewing away at his soul. Kenshin could sense something was wrong. He took a few steps forward. "Are you alright?" Kenshin's eyes narrowed. 

Sanosuke's mouth worded something that Kenshin couldn't hear. So Kenshin came closer and a familiar scent attacked his nose. He tensed up, eyes going wide. It was something he had hoped he would not smell for a long time.

"I just ..." whispered Sanosuke, barely audible. He looked to the ground and let himself pause.

"Tell me, Sano," Kenshin urged on. 

"I ..." he began again, a little louder. "Before I tell you, you gotta know that I didn't mean it, Kenshin. You gotta know that!" His voice began to break desperately, a reminder of how young Sanosuke really was. 

"I know it, Sano, I know," he said, "but what happened?"

Sanosuke sighed deeply, his breath shaking. He held out his right hand, which was shaking badly enough that he had to hold it with his other. Kenshin recognized the stains on his friend's hand immediately as blood. Sanosuke had been in many a fight, and Kenshin had seen Sano twice as messy as this but he knew in his heart that something about this was different. Kenshin recognized the desperate look in Sano's eyes and the shaking in his body. 

"I didn't mean to Kenshin I just ... he had a gun. And I got so _mad_..."

Kenshin placed his hand over Sanosuke's, steadying it. 

"I owed this guy some money. He came by my house tonight ... he pulled a gun on me, saying I would be 'an example' to all the other people that owed him money. I hit him once. Just once, I swear."

"Sanosuke, perhaps you should have refrained from using your _Futae no Kiwami_," Kenshin said, trying his best not to sound in any way threatening.

"That's just the thing! I didn't use it! It was a normal punch! I didn't want to kill him! I _didn't_ want to kill him ... I just wanted to get him away from me."

Kenshin's hand tightened above Sanosuke's. It was the only thing he could think of to do.

"I'm sure you can say you were defending yourself. Perhaps the police will be lenient," suggested Kenshin.

"I'm not letting the cops arrest me. I can't go to jail, not over an accident."

"They might not ..."

Sanosuke backed off, taking away his hand. "Yeah, and they might chop off my head and put it on display!"

Kenshin made a soothing movement with his hands. "Perhaps now is not the time to be discussing the police. The first thing we should do is get you cleaned up." Kenshin walked to the edge of the river and waved him over. Sanosuke had to take a moment to recompose himself before walking over to the riverbanks to kneel next to Kenshin. 

"Got anything to wash with?"

Kenshin shook his head. "No, I'm sorry."

Sanosuke just nodded. He plunged his hands into the river and the cold water sent a satisfying chill through him. He could catch brief glimpses of the crimson in the water as it washed away. He then felt a pair of hands cover his own and begin rubbing them together. He looked over to see Kenshin working to clean the more stubborn spots in his hand. Sanosuke couldn't get over how domestic Kenshin looked. It was morbid: "_Was this the way he looked washing blood off himself back in the revolution?_" he wondered. Not being a person used to this strange kind of pampering, Sanosuke would have asked Kenshin to stop, but something about the warmth of the rurouni's skin made Sanosuke feel calmer and more secure. So he let him continue.

"These clothes look like policemen's clothes. Where did you get them?" asked Kenshin with obvious suspicion.

"Saitou gave them to me."

Kenshin stopped his scrubbing and looked up and into Sanosuke's eyes. "Saitou? Did he have a part in this?"

"Kind of. I mean, no. He wasn't there when I ..." Sanosuke looked away, still unable to discard the image of Magori's body lying amidst the debris.

Kenshin allowed an appropriate amount of time to pass before asking: "How did you come to wear his clothes?"

"I woke up at his house tonight. He gave me these clothes to borrow. Mine were all ... messed up."

"Messed up? How did they get that way?"

Sanosuke chortled. He let his head hang between his shoulders. "I honestly don't know."

Kenshin looked up at Sanosuke's forehead and saw something curious. "May I?" Kenshin asked, pointing to Sanosuke's headband. With a bit of reluctance, he removed it and handed it to Kenshin before putting his hands back into the water.

"Your headband, it also has blood on it," Kenshin said, examining the tattered cloth.

"Oh yeah, that," Sanosuke said, not wanting to sound bitter but achieving it anyway. "If you want an answer about that, I honestly don't have one. I just woke up at Saitou's and there was all this blood on me. Man, I can't believe I forgot about that. It feels so far away." 

If it were at all possible, Kenshin began to look even more worried. "Where did the blood come from?"

"Saitou gave me the lamest answer: it's mine apparently. Of course, he's full of shit. I don't have a scratch on me."

"This happened before you ... killed that man?"

"A lot happened before I killed Magori," he replied. 

"_Man that sounds weird_," Sanosuke thought, a shiver running through him as he suddenly noticed how numb he had become. "_Kenshin must think I have no remorse._"

"Perhaps you should tell me exactly what happened now," Kenshin said, guiding Sanosuke's hands out of the water. He looked down and saw that his hands were shivering in the cold, but he hadn't felt it until he looked down at them. He rubbed them together in a futile attempt to get warm.

"Okay, sure," Sanosuke agreed, blowing on his hands. He began to tell Kenshin everything, from seeing Saitou at the edge of the riverbanks to running away from the scene at his home. He especially divulged in Saitou's tale of the shapeshifters. It was less divulging, really and more ranting about how stupid the older man must have thought he was.

Kenshin stared off into the distance, remembering hard-fought battles with Saitou and the Shinsengumi. "As hard as I think, I can assume no other reason for Saitou to tell you that: he must want something from you. There's nothing else to gain."

Sanosuke snorted. "First he wants me to disappear, now he wants something from me. Oh, how the wheel of fate turns..."

Kenshin smiled weakly, and it never reached his eyes. Sanosuke saw the falsity there and sighed. "Kenshin, you don't have to humor me. I know what I did was serious. I didn't come here to get my mind off of it. I came because you would know what to do."

Kenshin nodded, letting his expression become blank and impassive. "I know."

"I mean, what do you do when you've _accidentally_ killed someone? And there's no way to convince anyone other than somebody like you that it really was an accident."

"Perhaps you should confess to the police," he suggested again. "Even if they don't believe you, they might be lenient, maybe even ..."

"Like hell I'm going to the cops," Sanosuke growled, folding his arms over his chest in a very childish way. "Don't suggest that again."

"I should have expected as much." Kenshin smiled a bit, and that time it was true.

"Ah. Now there's the Kenshin I like to see," Sanosuke tapped Kenshin's cheek with his fist as a fake punch. "I needed to see that."

Kenshin laid his hands over Sano's bandaged fist and looked deeply into his friend's eyes, compassion shining through those violet windows. Sanosuke felt the warmth in the swordsman's grip as if there were coal under his skin heating him. It felt unbelievably soothing on his cold hand. He leaned in closer and pressed a chilled cheek against Kenshin's warm skin, but then he kept leaning, farther than he meant to. He finally collapsed into the circle of Kenshin's body.

"Sanosuke?" Kenshin cried out, trying not to fall over.

"You're warm," he said, without thinking. 

"_Oro_?"

"I just am tired all of a sudden." His voice came out slow and quiet. It was as if the warmth from Kenshin's hands had traveled through his entire body, surrounding him like a blanket. He could feel himself falling deeper and deeper into sleep, although he struggled to stay awake.

Kenshin could tell Sanosuke was intent on resting. "Perhaps you should stay here at least for the night. I can't think of anyplace where you would be safer."

"Won't Kaoru get pissed off?" Sanosuke mumbled.

"Let's not worry about that now, alright?" Kenshin wrapped his arms around Sano's back. "If you're this tired, you need sleep. But we can't sleep next to the river, alright?"

Sanosuke just nodded and moaned, crawling closer to Kenshin.

"Really Sano, we ought to walk up to the dojo before you fall asleep."

"Mn-hmn," mumbed Sanosuke. He shoved into Kenshin a bit more to get warmer, but only ended up sending he and Kenshin sprawling out onto the grassy earth.

"Erm... Sorry," Sanosuke said, pushing himself up onto all fours. He looked down at Kenshin who laid on his back staring up. 

"It's alright. I just got a little crushed, that's all," Kenshin said, his eyes out of focus and wandering. 

Sanosuke chuckled, collapsing back onto Kenshin. It felt good to laugh, as if he hadn't in ages. He decided to roll over when a strained "Orooo" came out of Kenshin.

"Sorry, sorry about that," he laughed and laid an arm over his eyes.

The atmosphere sobered up quickly. Sanosuke let himself sigh and was suddenly glad he had covered up his eyes: he could feel himself tearing.

"Sanosuke, com inside now. We should go before it gets too late."

Sanosuke gave no answer. Some time passed before Kenshin spoke again.

"Are you alright?" He asked. "We really should get up to the dojo if you're so tired."

"Do you hate me?" Sanosuke whispered.

Kenshin was silent for many long moments. "I can't hate you, Sano."

"I was too stupid to know my own strength. How could you not hate me?"

"Because you didn't know. You had no intent to take life. I believe that is second-best to not killing." 

"I wish I could believe that," Sanosuke said. "But I don't think I do."

Kenshin stood up and leaned over Sanosuke. He held his hand out, offering. "I believe it."

Sanosuke took his hand and pulled himself up. He clasped onto Kenshin's arms and opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted.

" I didn't know you two were rose-boys," chuckled Saitou's voice from where he was hidden in the shadows.

Sanosuke jumped out of his skin and backed away. Kenshin was in front of him in a flash, his hand hovering over the hilt of his sakabatou. 

Saitou slowly stepped from the shows and drew his katana. He stepped forward, his sword held with the tip pointing to the sky. 

"I warn you now Saitou, do not try to come closer. I do not wish to fight with you tonight."

Saitou only smirked and did something neither Kenshin or Sanosuke thought they would ever see Saitou do: he threw his katana to the ground where it rolled until it stopped before Kenshin's feet. He could only stare at Saitou in astonishment, whose smirk never waned.

"Such overreaction. The way you two are jumping around, it's as if I just killed someone."


	7. Chapter VII - The Unexpected Mentor

Lupine Chapter Seven - The Unexpected Mentor 

Sanosuke stared at Saitou's katana as if it were the only thing that existed in the world. The light in the sword's reflection filled Sanosuke's eyes like water into cups. He felt himself trapped in its rays, the moon coursing through his blood like a river. He knew by looking at this sword that it was different somehow from the one Saitou had before. It seemed stronger, more carefully built and undeniably more fascinating. Outside of Sanosuke's wonderings he could hear the arguing of the two men before him. But the voices seemed far, far away, echoes of another place.

"I cannot let you arrest him," Kenshin said forcefully.

"That's not what I am here for," insisted Saitou.

"Then why?" Kenshin demanded once again.

"That idiot standing behind you killed a man, and it is my job to keep him clear of danger."

At Saitou's words, Sanosuke pulled out of his trance.

"I don't need your kind of help," bit Sanosuke.

"I think you do."

Sanosuke knew what Saitou meant. He meant he was helpless. Sanosuke gritted his teeth and clenched his fists until the press of his fingernails sent a sobering wave of pain through him.

"You mean to protect him from ... what? The police? Other gangsters?" Kenshin asked.

Saitou chortled, a small smile appearing and then disappearing as quickly as it had come. "There are more dangerous things than gangsters out on a night like this."

"Like shapeshifters?" Kenshin asked, his eyes narrowing and voice so calm they couldn't tell what he was thinking.

Saitou let out another short laugh, his smile wider and longer lasting than before.

"So, Sanosuke has already told someone about us. I would have expected at least a week to go by." Sanosuke began to step forward, but Kenshin spoke before Sanosuke could make any sort of move.

"Is there any truth to this?" he asked.

Sanosuke let out a griping cry. "You can't be serious! What are you asking him for? He's the liar, remember?"

"I would like to hear it from his own lips," Kenshin answered.

Sano could feel a little piece of himself crumble. "What ... you don't believe me?"

"That isn't it at all," Kenshin said, turning his head to look at him.

Sanosuke backed away; his eyes narrowed at teeth clenched, feelings of betrayal naked on his face. "Fine. Don't believe me then."

"Sanosuke ... " Kenshin started, turning around.

"I mean, why would you? I'm so fucking stupid. Just an ahou, right?" Sanosuke glared at Saitou, whose face was dark and unreadable.

"You are being paranoid," Saitou said, reaching into his pocket.

"Piss off," Sanosuke growled as he felt the tears burn beneath his eyes. They were not tears of sadness, but the sort of tears only hatred, fear, and betrayal can bring. The emotions threatened to bubble to the top, but he wouldn't let himself cry. He swore he would die before he found himself crying in front of Saitou; rage suited him better. Instead he flexed his fist until all his knuckles cracked, and he ground his teeth together until he could hear nothing but the sound of his jaws grinding together.

Saitou pulled out his cigarette case and tapped it against his hand, packing the tobacco.

"Whatever you want from me, you aren't going to get it," Sanosuke swore. Without thinking about it for one moment he was off running, his legs pumping underneath him with energy he hadn't thought he had. He went up the hill and into the forest as quickly as he could, disappearing into the first patch of trees he came across.

Kenshin called after him, but Sanosuke had disappeared out of their sight. Kenshin stood and pondered for a moment; he had never seen his friend move that quickly. 

"_Yareyare_," Saitou muttered. Kenshin turned back to Saitou, who had an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips. "I can never find the time to smoke around that boy."

Sanosuke ran between the trees, getting as far away as he could. As he ran, he felt a feeling course through him. It was exhilarating, as if every part of him had come to life in a new way. He could smell all the sweet scents of the forest: the dew, the flowers, the fruits, all of it. Prisms of light patterned his skin, and the moon hued everything a shade of blue, the few things too pale to be blue glowed white, glowing as if they had a light inside of them. As he moved, he dodged every tree, every shrub that would have made him fall. He felt as though he had run the same stretch of woods since he was a kid, and yet he knew he had never been there before. It was like running through a dream, everything wasn't quite real and yet his mind accepted it. 

From the darkness in his mind came thoughts, teasing, mean voices to taunt him as he escaped. "_Why are you running?_" 

Sanosuke tried to push the voice aside, but it found its way back into his consciousness, seeping in like bad water.

"_You know you're strong enough to take on Saitou. What are you afraid of? That you still aren't?_"

Sanosuke ran even faster, almost out of control of his speed. He closed his eyes against the torrent of emotions, trying anything to make the small voice stop.

"_You are a fool to run. Just a useless_ ahou ..."

His eyes flew open and he wanted to stop running. Yet his momentum was so swift he knew that it would be impossible to stop, unless something stopped him. At the moment he could think of nothing else to do: he picked an object ahead of him and ran towards it.

He raised his arms forward and ran into a tree, his arms out to keep his entire body from colliding with it. He felt his elbows complain, but he was stopped and didn't care about the pain. He let out a sigh of relief and bent into the tree that was still shaking from the impact, pressing his forehead against the solid, steady wood as he breathed in the smells of sap and moist wood. He dug his nails into the bark, sending slivers into his fingernails. Once more he didn't care about the pain. He didn't even feel it. It was nothing compared to the burning in his heart, and the confusion in his mind.

Sanosuke stayed there for many long moments, reliving that night and the night before. He clung to the tree as if it were an anchor, the only thing keeping him connected to the earth beneath him. Standing next to the tree, he felt a prickling at his neck, but scolded himself for feeling it; the feeling was too indescribable to be anything other than supernatural. Sanosuke knew the tree couldn't possibly be giving off energy like a living person. Yet at that moment he could feel a calm, strong energy coming from it. It was signature, unique, just like a person.

He tried not to think about it and let his arms fall. He laid next to the roots of the tree, his head against them like they were a mother's lap. Although he didn't remember his mother, he imagined she would be much like a tree, deep-rooted and strong, grander and wiser as she got older. And so, in the mixture of guilt and confusion was also added loneliness, something he had been feeling somewhere inside him for longer than just the past few days. He curled into a ball, his legs pulled against his chest firmly as his arms clutched them. He moved in between sleep and bitter wakefulness, wishing for only one thing. 

"_I wish all this shit would stop_," he thought, clutching his head. "_I want it all to be like it was before ..._"

He heard something coming towards him through the brush and sat up in a flash. He whirled around to look, but saw nothing. Yet still, the sound of rustling leaves were loud, as if they were right next to his ears. He stood and spun around, looking for the source of the sound, but all around him was eerie stillness.

He froze as he realized what he was hearing. There was somebody running towards him, and the noise was getting louder, and he knew somehow that he was hearing somebody far away. 

A gust of wind blew in from the other direction. He heard it coming closer and closer until finally it was surrounding him. The howling and rustling was so loud that Sanosuke had to cover his ears and close his eyes against the torrent of sensation. The wind passed and all was still again, but he still felt the ringing in his ears. His skin felt alive as well, every hair on his body standing on end, stimulated by the cold wind. 

He opened his eyes and found himself face to face with Saitou once again, only inches from the man's face. He cried out and stumbled back, nearly tripping over his own feet. He swore and narrowed his eyes at the older man.

"You think you can stop trying to scare the shit out of me?" he yelled.

"You heard me coming. If it weren't for the wind you would have heard me arrive," he said, his tone soft and non-threatening, but still unreadable.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sanosuke said with his teeth grinding together, trying to deny what he knew to be truth.

Saitou snorted. "I'm not expecting you to take in everything I say and simply accept it. But you've felt it yourself and you know it is more than just my word."

"Find somebody else to torture ..." Sanosuke spat, backing away.

"Are you going to run again?"

"No."

"Then why do you smell so unsure?"

Sanosuke stared at Saitou sideways, one brow raised in confusion. "Smell?"

"And your muscles are tense, like you're ready to move quickly. You really want to run, don't you?"

Sanosuke narrowed his eyes again. "I want to. But I'm not going to. I shouldn't have in the first place," he admitted. He tried to read Saitou's face, to see what kind of trick he might be using to tell all this.

Saitou took a step forward and Sanosuke jumped back. He scolded himself for being so jumpy and held his ground as Saitou came closer. He held out his hand to Sanosuke's face ...

"Don't touch me," Sanosuke threatened, pulling his face away.

Saitou smirked and snapped his fingers. It sent a brutal shiver of pain through Sanosuke's ears.

"Don't do that!" he yelled, putting his hands to his ears again.

"I can make it stop for now, long enough to get you back to my home."

"Make what stop?" he asked.

"You're sensitive to everything right now, am I wrong? It must have been the smell of blood; that sometimes triggers it prematurely."

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?" Sanosuke grumbled, glaring at the other man.

"You're not used to having the keen hearing, sight, and sensations of a wolf. I can help you suppress them until I can begin teaching you control." 

"I'm not a _wolf_ ..." he said, repeating what he had said earlier in the night.

"Was I ever this impossible?" Saitou asked, holding his chin as he wondered nostalgically.

"How the hell should I know?" Sanosuke growled, rolling his eyes.

"It was a rhetorical question, genius."

The two men seethed as they glared at each other, but Saitou found his head again quickly.

"You should come home with me. The last place the police will look for you is in the home of an officer," Saitou offered.

"Why would I want to go back there? I woke up in bloody clothes, you nearly molested me, and told me this fucking wolf story!"

"Because you have no place else to go," he said, utter confidence lifting his stern brow.

Sano could think of nothing to say back. The two of them stood in silence while Sanosuke glared and Saitou stood still as a statue.

"I'm going to stay at the dojo," he began, all the confidence gone from his voice.

"The police chief will visit Kenshin to ask questions first thing in the morning, I'm sure of it. It wouldn't be a good idea to stay at one of the first places the police will investigate."

Sanosuke's lip curled as he realized how right Saitou was. He paused for a long time, his arms folded across his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but he heard a rustling noise behind him. The wind was blowing once more and coming too fast for Sanosuke to prepare for it. A torrent of sound and sensation ravaged him and he pressed his hands against his ears to chase away the sound.

At once Saitou pulled Sanosuke to him, holding the boy close to his body. Sanosuke barely noticed the embrace, as every inch of him was alive, howling and shaking against the violent wind. Saitou held Sanosuke's head to his chest and began concentrating. Slowly, the sound of the wind became more and more distant, and the sensations of cold didn't feel so foreign. Everything turned back to normal except for one thing; he could hear a throbbing like the pounding of drums close to his ears. He began to realize that he was hearing a heartbeat, but it was not his own. He could hear two separate heartbeats, although they beat in unison. He stiffened as he realized he was hearing Saitou's heart. 

He pulled himself away from the circle of Saitou's arms and backed away, his eyes wide. The wind was still moving around him but there was nothing abnormal about it at all, except that instead of the wind he heard the sound of Saitou's beating heart, like distant drums. 

"What did you do?" Sanosuke whispered, touching his ear and staring at Saitou in wonderment. 

"I lent a bit of my control to you. It is only temporary. You will be much more sensitive in an hour or so."

It all sounded like Greek to Sanosuke, who just kept staring.

"I have more control over what I hear, see, and feel, as well as how I use that control. For now you will hear what I hear, feel what I feel."

Sanosuke shivered and clutched at his chest, the thought of being inside Saitou's skin unnerving.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he whispered, shivering and trying to pass off the sensation as something else, anything else.

"The Ou-sama has asked of me to be your sensei. I honestly can't think of anyone else who could keep track of you other than me. So I'm stuck with you." Saitou sounded genuinely disgruntled.

"Why not just arrest me and have me executed?" Sanosuke spat, returning to his familiar anger and sarcasm. "Certainly would save you time and effort, huh?"

"That would be easy, but we don't let our own wander lost in the world." Saitou's eyes glowed brightly in the darkness, the only thing not hued by the light of the moon.

Sanosuke stared at the forest floor. He weighed his options carefully in his head as he warmed his arms by rubbing them together. He could do one of two things: go someplace to hide where the police would undoubtedly find him, or with Saitou where an unknown fate waited for him. It was either death, or the unknown. He looked up to Saitou, sighed, and gave his answer.

"You got any more of that eel?"


	8. Chapter VIII The Beast Within

Lupine Chapter Eight - The Beast Within 

They walked down the empty Tokyo street together, if together was the word for it. Sanosuke lagged ten feet behind Saitou, his eyes trained on the dusty ground. He held his hand over his heart; it felt foreign, as if somebody had replaced it with something half its weight. It didn't even feel like his own now that it was being ... shared, the dream-like rhythm of Saitou's heart still echoing in his ears. 

Saitou's home came into view, and the moment when Saitou saw it Sanosuke looked up as well. It was true: all sensations were being shared, even something like recognition. Sanosuke tried to shake off the feeling and Saitou looked over his shoulder at the boy, smirking. Sanosuke glared back. 

"Where am I sleeping?" Sanosuke mumbled as they walked up to Saitou's doorway.

"Where you slept yesterday," Saitou said, opening the door, slipping off his shoes. 

Sanosuke wrinkled his nose and glared at Saitou as he stepped inside, "You're not going to be ..." 

"I wouldn't dream of intruding on you like that," Saitou said flatly. He closed the door behind himself and as he passed Sanosuke his hand brushed lightly against his palm. A rush went through Sano's arm and straight to his heart. He clutched it as it skipped a beat before it returned to normal. He no longer heard nor felt the presence of Saitou's heart beating with his own. He had to take a moment and pause because in all reality, he missed the sensation. He began to like himself a little less for that. 

Gradually, the sounds around him became louder, so that he could even hear the sounds the wood made complaining under Saitou's feet. 

"I won't be here tonight," Saitou said from inside the bedroom. 

"What?" Sanosuke cried. "With all the shit going on, you're just ..." 

"I'm not going out to a social occasion," Saitou corrected, coming out of the room with a _yukata_ on his arm. "I have to go meet with the Ou-sama to see if we can clean up this mess before the sun rises."

Sanosuke snorted. "What am I supposed to do in the meantime?" 

Saitou tossed Sanosuke the _yukata_, who caught it in mid-air. 

"Try to sleep," Saitou said, heading towards the door.

"Wait!" Sanosuke cried out. In hindsight, Sanosuke thought it sounded too desperate, but he ignored it. "Where did Kenshin go?" he asked, his voice becoming cautious. 

"The _battousai_ and I talked. He agreed that my home would be a very unlikely place to look for you."

Sanosuke narrowed his eyes and spoke cautiously. "How come Kenshin didn't come with us then? Where did he go?" 

"You would never be a good policeman," Saitou said. Sanosuke opened his mouth, not sure whether this was an insult or not, but Saitou cut him off before he could start speaking. "He was watching us in the forest. I must commend him, he was very well hidden, but I knew he was there. Once he knew you were safe, he probably went home."

Sanosuke still eyed Saitou cautiously, unsure about Saitou's version of events.

Saitou simply smirked for a split second. "Believe me or not, it's your choice. You look tired. Get some sleep. You've been through much, and there will be more yet. For now, I have to go, and clean up some of this mess you've made."

With that he left the room, closing the door behind him. The sound of the door sliding into place and the click of the lock was thunderous in Sanosuke's ears.

"Feh," Sanosuke spat. "I don't need him around." He held the _yukata_ in front of him; it was a powder blue color, and made of something as soft as cotton and smooth as silk. It must have been some foreign material because Sanosuke didn't recognize the feel. 

"_How does he afford stuff this nice with a cop's salary?_" Sanosuke wondered. He just shrugged and stripped off his clothing. After slipping into the fine fabric he felt cleaner and lighter than in the clothes Saitou had given him earlier. Somewhere in this distance a dog barked and he jumped, because for Sanosuke it was loud enough to seem as if the dog were right next to his ear. Scolding himself and glaring in the direction of the offensive dog, he headed into the bedroom, leaving the dirty clothes where he dropped them. He sprawled out on the bed, his feet hanging off both sides of the large mattress, surrounded by powder blue sheets and the faint musky smell of tobacco. He sighed, frustrated, when he realized he could hear not only the pesky dog parking, but also three of his neighbors snoring. The wind picked up once again and banged against the side of the house, making Sanosuke shudder. He grabbed two of the numerous pillows, and pressed them hard against his ears. It barely blocked out the sound, but it was all he could think to do.

"_How the hell am I supposed to sleep?_" Sanosuke thought angrily. "_Everything is so loud, and this bed is too fuckin' high!_"

He crawled under the many sheets and feather-down comforter of the western bed and, with his two pillows still pressed beside his ears, closed his eyes and tried to rest. However, he couldn't get comfortable at all. With a loud growl he kicked his bedding off. Sitting up, Sanosuke pressed down on the mattress. Something about the bed bothered him. It was luxurious and comfortable, not like anything he had ever slept on, so it felt too strange. 

Eventually, time began to drag his eyelids shut, exhaustion overpowering every distracting light, noise, and sensation. It wasn't so much falling asleep at the end, so much as passing out. He couldn't fight sleep anymore, and neither could his body.

Sanosuke felt the warm rays of the sun hit his skin. His back began to warm, which sent pleasurable sensations through his stressed muscles and bones, that felt sore and stiff. He covered his eyes, still weary of the light.

"Good morning. I see you've found yourself a comfortable niche," Saitou's voice said, coming from behind him, and if he wasn't mistaken, above him as well.

Sanosuke only groaned and wrapped the closest blanket he could find around himself tightly, and stubbornly closed his eyes, shut as tightly as they could be shut.

A hand plunged down into Sanosuke's comfortable bundle and tore the sheets away.

Sanosuke cried out and turned around to glare up at Saitou. Then he realized why Saitou was coming from both behind and above. Sometime in the night he had rolled off the bed and he now found himself on the floor, sheets draped off the edge of the bed. 

"Get up. We have work to do."

"Work?" Sanosuke complained, his hands over his eyes. "Can't this wait?"

"No, because I've been up all night and I'd like to get this done before I get too tired."

Sanosuke moved his hand and peered at Saitou suspiciously. "Get what done?" 

A loud bark came from outside and Sanosuke jumped, his hands flying up to cover his ears. He cried out in frustration for his poor ears. 

"Well, you'd like to have that taken care of I'm sure." Saitou's tone was flat, but somehow mocking.

Sanosuke only glared and tried to tug the sheet back. With a roll of his eyes, Saitou slipped off the edge of the bed and stood above Sanosuke. He grabbed the unsuspecting boy by the arms and pulled him up to a full standing position. The sudden move made Sanosuke dizzy and he had to grasp Saitou's arms to keep from falling back. But before he knew it, Saitou pushed Sanosuke onto the bed. 

Sanosuke sat at the edge of the bed while Saitou went ahead and crawled onto it. "You're going to want to lay down for this," Saitou suggested, pulling away the excess sheets. Sanosuke turned to Saitou and gave him a look that said: "no way".

Saitou glared back. "You delude yourself into thinking any man would want to sleep with you. Now lay down."

Sanosuke just glared harsher at the man and looked away stubbornly, adamant about not participating in whatever it was Saitou was suggesting. But he wouldn't have a choice. Saitou grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back onto the mattress. Sanosuke struggled, but Saitou held him still. 

Saitou's face came into view, uncomfortably close to his own, a menacing look in his eyes.

"I've been up for two days straight, taking after you. Thanks to your screw up the other night I'll probably not be getting much rest the next few nights either. Now, I'm trying to help you. Are you going to pout and be an ungrateful freeloader, or are you going to actually let me help you?"

Sanosuke shrunk away as far as he could. "Alright," he whispered, but still with an angry scowl on his face. Immediately, Saitou let go and sat up. Sanosuke sat up twice as quickly, eyeing Saitou as if he were going to sprout fangs and go for his neck. But in a polite manner, Saitou extended his hand and motioned for Sanosuke to lie down. 

Reluctantly, and very cautiously, Sanosuke made his way to the center of the bed where he lied down stiffly, afraid to let his muscles relax, in case he might need to run.

Saitou moved over to kneel next to Sanosuke. Softly, Saitou placed his hand over Sanosuke's heart. He flinched at the touch, but Saitou paid no attention to the others movements. 

A feeling passed through Sano briefly, like a surge of energy. It only lasted momentarily, but it made him go very still as he tried to figure out the sensation, as well as waiting for something new and strange to happen. Even as he did this the sounds of the bustling street outside felt close to him, as if he were lying in the middle of a busy street and traffic was happening all around him. 

"Have you ever stayed near the water?" Saitou asked.

"What?" Sanosuke asked. "_What kind of a question is that to ask?_" he wondered.

"For a while you can constantly hear the water, but eventually as you begin to pay attention to other things don't you? You hear the water, but you don't actually hear it constantly, do you?"

Sanosuke cocked his head to the side. "I suppose ... no. No, you don't hear it after a while."

"'White Noise' they call it. It's things like electric humming and the sounds of the water. Eventually, you begin to not notice it, even though you are constantly hearing it. The mind, in all its complexities, has also found a way to filter out useless noise."

Sanosuke nodded. It sounded perfectly reasonable.

"Now ... listen ..."

Saitou flexed his fingers and another surge of energy went through Sanosuke's body. This time it was longer and stronger, and made Sanosuke's back arch upwards and his eyes roll into the back of his head. Saitou took his hands away as Sanosuke clutched at his ears. The noise seemed louder and more offensive. Voices went by quickly and he caught little bits of conversation before it was all voiceless human noise.

"...and her restaurant is being closed down, can you believe the nerve..."

"...I'm telling you, tasty like strawberries..."

"...I don't like the harbors these days. Packed with foreigners..."

"...only 100 yen..." 

Sanosuke sat up in his bed and cried out, but his wailing only echoed off the walls and made the noise worse. "What did you do to me?" was the only intelligible thing he could cry out.

Saitou leaned back and watched Sanosuke writhe for a moment. He looked at his nails and stretched a bit, before he spoke.

"I've been meaning to ask ... why is it that you spend so much time at the Kamiya Dojo?"

Sanosuke turned his head and gave Saitou the most hate-filled glare he had in himself. "What kind of question is that to ask? And now!? You are such a snake!"

"Well, I'm only curious after all," he continued casually. "You have your own place to stay, you manage enough money to survive, despite this gambling problem, and you have plenty of friends outside the dojo who are more like you. So, why always hang around that place?"

"None of your damn business," he grunted out, pressing his throbbing head between his knees.

"I know it isn't, but truly I've been curious for a while now. Does that woman Kaoru cook to your liking?"

"Are you kidding?" Sanosuke said, lifting his head up a bit. "My drunken father could make a better meal than _Jo-chan_."

"Not the food then? It must be the company. Though I, particularly, wouldn't associate myself with fools such as them. I find every one of them to be unrealistic and naïve, especially the _battousai_ as of late. He's a fool, and worse yet, a pacifist." 

Sanosuke went red in the face. "You shut your mouth." 

But Saitou continued. "These years have made him soft. I wouldn't be surprised if the next enemy that comes along would be the death of him. I truly wish he would revert to the _hitokiri Battousai_ he once was. To fight him in his former glory, that would be spectacular. But now ... Himura is nothing but a dried-up has-been."

"Shut, _up_!" Sanosuke screamed, sitting up. "How dare you talk about Kenshin like that!" He got on his knees and stared Saitou dead in the eyes, his own burning with anger. "The way you talk about him, it only proves you don't know him at all! Kenshin is ... was ... the only thing that saved me, back when I belonged to chaos. I hated everything around me, and all I knew was how to destroy mindlessly. And then we crossed paths. He saved my life that day we fought. Don't you ever say he is a fool, a has-been, or _soft_. He is none of those things. He's twice the man you are. You're just jealous! He could create a new world and you're just stuck in the days of the Shogun. I may not like the government, but at least Kenshin has the bravery to stand up for what he believes in. I bet you don't even ..."

Saitou put a hand to Sanosuke's mouth and the motion was enough to surprise Sanosuke into silence. "Shhhh ... Do you hear something?" he asked.

For a second, Sanosuke only stood there and stared at Saitou with an annoyed glare. "No, I don't ..." Then, it clicked. He didn't say a word or move as the reality sunk in. He fell back and landed on his hind. "No, I don't hear anything at all."

Saitou just smiled pleasantly from his position on the bed.

"You are a fucking bastard. I just ... words cannot express ..."

"A nice 'thank you' is a good way to express things."

Sanosuke glared one last time before falling back onto the pillows. How had he done it? He had to backtrack to figure it out: first Saitou made his ability to hear very acute. Secondly, he let him writhe there for a while. Then, completely distracted him by insulting Kenshin. It was so ingenious he wanted to punch him in the face. 

"It's just white noise now," Saitou said.

"Yeah," Sanosuke reflected. "It's hard to explain but ... it's kind of like when I learned the _Futae no Kiwami_."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Everything sort of just ... came together on it's own, you know?"

"I know," Saitou said.

"It's like second-nature. Or first-nature. However that happens," Sanosuke continued.

"Yes. Whichever one you like," Saitou said, as if he were talking to a child.

Sanosuke held up his hand and flipped Saitou off briefly before letting his hand fall.

"Very charming."

He sat at the table as Saitou tended to _miso_ soup, which was beginning to slowly boil over the fire outside the porch. It took some getting used to, but he was fully controlling what he heard now. He could block out the noise or bring it all back, but what he was interested in figuring out now, was just listening to certain things, out in the crowd.

"God, what a jerk," he mumbled, listening to one man in particular. 

"What's that?" Saitou called.

"Oh, just this guy next door. He says he's going to sell his wife. What an asshole."

"He threatens that all the time," said Saitou. "Honestly, they are very happy together. Just every once and a while she gets on his nerves. He's never serious about that."

"Oh," he replied, looking in the direction of the man. "Do you know them?"

"I've only spoken to them once or twice."

Sanosuke gave Saitou a disapproving look. "So you've been spying on an innocent couple all this time?"

"I like to know what's going on around me. Besides, you don't have room to talk. You were just listening to them for no purpose." 

Sanosuke frowned, realizing he was right. He didn't talk about it after that, and just continued listening.

Saitou came inside with a small metal pot. There was just enough _miso_ inside for two. As he set the pot down, he looked at the other, studying him. Sanosuke had a great look of wonder upon his face, even if the boy didn't know it. He was craning his head, as if that would help him better to hone in on certain noises, and his mouth was open slightly. 

"What are you listening to now?"

Sanosuke paused for a while. "There's this guy on the corner. He's singing."

Saitou spooned some _miso_ into a bowl and Sanosuke turned right around. He drank the entire bowl almost immediately. Saitou raised a brow.

"Hungry, are we?"

Sanosuke looked down into the empty bowl and blushed for a moment before shaking it off with a wide, goofy smile, and placing the bowl down.

They both stopped and turned to the door when they heard the footsteps coming towards the house. Three knocks came and a patient silence. Slowly, Saitou made his way to the door. He smelled the air and saw the small silhouette behind the door. 

"It's Kenshin," he shouted over his shoulder.

Sanosuke smiled brightly and turned to meet him. Saitou opened the door, and Kenshin did stand there, but he had a grave look upon his face. Sanosuke's face fell and a bad feeling washed over him.

"Come in," Saitou invited casually, and Kenshin stepped inside. He spotted Sanosuke and smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes. Sanosuke's heart sank, and he looked upon Kenshin inquisitively.

"You should know that the police came to the dojo first thing in the morning," he began after Saitou closed the door. "They found the body in the night, one of the neighbors reported hearing a sound, then found the man. They're looking everywhere for you, Sanosuke."

"Shit," Sano swore under his breath.

"I have a few questions for you, Saitou," he said suddenly, turning a suspicious eye to the older man. 

"I suppose you do then," he said, before casually walking over to the table and sitting down to eat the _miso_ he had prepared.

Kenshin sat down between the two of them, though he was closer to Sanosuke. "I need to know more about what Sanosuke is going through. These wolves he spoke of."

"There isn't much I can tell you that Sanosuke hasn't already told," Saitou began, sipping out of his bowl. He put it down and continued. "There isn't much more I can tell. We are secret, living in the shadows of the world, and for good reason. It's unsafe there, and isn't territory that should be trodden carelessly."

"You know I am careful," Kenshin reminded him. "I do not need you to worry about me."

There was a short silence and Kenshin eyed Saitou. His eyes went slightly wider with realization: "You don't mean me. Or even Sanosuke, do you?" 

Sanosuke glanced between the two men, wondering where it was all going.

"My pack is not a group of strong warriors, _Battousai_. A great many of us are average Japanese who stumbled upon this curse. And they, above all, need the stronger of us to remain firm and secretive."

"You have my word, none of this shall leave this house," Kenshin promised in a whisper, understanding in that moment people would be in danger. Sanosuke smiled; it was very much like him.

Saitou smiled back, but bitterly. "I know you would not go announcing our presence to the world, but there are things in the world that I never knew about, but know of now, that could pierce into your very secrets without you ever knowing it. So you be sure to ignore our existence outside of my presence. Do not speak of it in the darkest hidden corners, do not write of it in the most secret of letters. Not even to Sanosuke."

"You have my word," Kenshin solemnly promised, but the look in his eyes told Sanosuke that Kenshin knew there was more to it than that.

"Good. Because if any harm were to come to my pack, I would destroy you." Saitou's face and voice were calm and flat, as if he were conversing about something far less serious, but under his voice was laden a tone of promise and threat. "For you would be the only one outside our pack with knowledge of us. And if you must know, I am far more than a match for you now, so don't go thinking you can outsmart me somehow."

"You take the protection of these people very seriously," Kenshin stated.

"Yes, I do. The same goes for Sanosuke as well," Saitou said, once again sipping from his bowl of _miso_.

Sanosuke stiffened and stared at Saitou, confused. "What?"

"You are one of my people now. And I have a responsibility to protect you."

Sanosuke snorted. "I don't _need_ your protecting. I'm ..."

"Sanosuke."

"What?"

"Shut up."

Sanosuke opened his mouth to talk back, but just threw his hands up in the air, giving up. Kenshin held his hand over his mouth, stifling a laugh. 

As light as Kenshin and Sanosuke wanted the mood to feel, Saitou was serious and all about business, as it was usual of him. 

"There are many spirits in the world," Saitou began, "Many of them are in the form of animals. Badgers, foxes, even birds ... they can take many forms, but none stranger than the form we take. We are shapshifters; the spirit of a wolf lives inside of us until the full moon when it demands release. We are as old as the old gods, and will outlive the new. Nobody knows where this curse began, but it is spread easily enough: through a bite or even a scratch may sometimes be good enough." Sanosuke opened him mouth with a worried expression in his eyes, but Saitou answered the question he knew was coming. "However, only while this wolf is in control can one be tainted by it."

"Oh! Okay, so that's why when Masayo fought me the first time I was okay ..."

"That's not really the word for it," Kenshin corrected.

"Anyway!" he began again. "but I remember seeing fur above me, and claws, and teeth. That was Masayo as the wolf?"

"It could have been," Saitou said.

The entire house went quiet, and Sanosuke stared at Saitou curiously for a few moments. "Might? Have been? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Saitou looked away, seemingly to the front door. "It means it could have been Masayo."

Sanosuke leaned over the table. "Hmm ... who else does that leave that was a shapeshifter in the general area of my mauling?" He said bitterly.

Saitou gave a disapproving scowl.

"So, who gave me the scratch? Which one of you geniuses did it?"

Saitou picked up his cup and holding it in his hands, rotated it back and forth, studying the patterns painted on it. "I don't know," he said quietly. He took a sip of his drink and looked at the front door again.

"You don't _know_?" Sanosuke yelled with Kenshin next to him, wondering if he should say anything.

"We were both fighting right on top of you. I was trying to keep him away, and in the struggle I may have cut you a few times. But Masayo was the one who truly tore you apart. But it still isn't certain. The smallest scratch from a shapeshifter in the form of their beast, especially in the case of the wolves, can turn a man."

"So, how do I figure out who did it?"

"You may never know."

Sanosuke made a disgusted sound and stood up. "You guys just make one of the biggest decisions of my life _for me_, and you don't even know which one of you guys did it?!"

Kenshin stood up next to him. "Sano, don't let your anger get a hold of you."

Saitou stayed sitting. "Masayo doesn't give a damn who gave you the beast. He also doesn't care. Be glad he isn't vying for ownership."

"Ownership?" Sanosuke said with a deadly glare. 

Saitou's eyes turned upward. "Men like him hold on to possessions like you with a thirsty grip."

"I'm not a possession," Sanosuke growled.

"I don't think you are. I'm just trying to show you how much worse you could have had it," he looked towards the door again.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" Sanosuke screamed, pointing at the door. He then shook his hand and made his way towards the door. "I'm not doing this anymore."

Before he knew it, Saitou was in front of him, his hand held out to stop him, but it wasn't threatening. "Sanosuke, don't leave again. This is the only safe place for you right now.

"Get out of my way," Sanosuke growled.

Kenshin stood up behind him, a cautious eye on both Saitou and his friend. 

"_Ahou_! There is something I haven't told you yet!" Saitou said with his voiced raised forcefully.

"Oh, what else is new?" Sanosuke headed towards the door, moving to dodge Saitou.

Saitou grabbed Sanosuke's arm to hold him back, but then something happened that Saitou did not intend. They both stopped dead in their tracks as they felt a sensation of hostile energy overflowing across their auras. They looked up and into each other's eyes, knowing that these thoughts were not their own. Suddenly the sensation was violent and both men were cut down to kneel at the floor, holding each other's arms to keep from falling. Sanosuke saw that Saitou's eyes had become luminescent and bright, as though someone were holding a candle behind his eyes. Sanosuke could only guess what his own eyes were like at the moment. Another violent surge ripped through them and they both dug into each other's arms, deeper and deeper with every thrashing attack. Kenshin called out to them, but it was faint as if it were a voice from another world. Sanosuke felt only the sensation of fur stroking his body, but as if it were underneath his skin, through his very muscle.

When he looked up he was outside of himself, like it were something else looking out from his eyes. Suddenly, the man before him wasn't a man, it was a threat. Saitou's glare said the same thing about Sanosuke. Their vision went almost completely black as the spirit within them took control. 


End file.
